This Sunday afternoon and during his stay in Mexico City to attend the X Summit of North American Leaders, President Joseph R. Biden declared an Emergency for California and ordered the provision of federal assistance to complement the efforts state, tribal, and local response teams for emergency conditions resulting from successive severe winter storms, flooding, and landslides that began on January 8 and will continue.
The action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency "FEMA", to coordinate all disaster relief efforts that are intended to alleviate the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency in the local population, and to provide adequate assistance for necessary emergency measures.
The foregoing, in order to save lives and protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avoid the threat of a catastrophe in the counties of El Dorado, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Stanislaus, and Ventura.
It should be noted that FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize and provide, at its discretion, the necessary equipment and resources to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.
“Category B” emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance, under the Public Assistance program will be provided with 75 percent federal funding.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell has named Andrew F. Grant the coordinator of federal recovery operations in the affected areas.
The response was immediate, as just this Wednesday afternoon, Governor Gavin Newsom submitted a request to the White House for a Presidential Declaration of Emergency to support continued storm response and recovery efforts.
Earlier this Sunday, Newsom visited two sites along Deer Creek in Sacramento County to highlight the state's work to repair damage from previous storms and prepare for severe weather to come.
The Governor also announced $202 million in new long-term flood prevention investments proposed in the next state budget.
The state administration said that since the end of December, 12 Californians have died from storm-related impacts, including flooding, more than the number of civilians killed by wildfires in the past two years combined. .
"We are in the midst of a deadly barrage of winter storms, and California is using all the resources at its disposal to protect lives and limit damage," Newsom said. "We are taking the threat of these storms seriously and want to make sure Californians stay vigilant as more storms come our way."
The director of the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services "Cal OES", Nancy Ward, explained at a press conference that with a series of storms ahead, the situation continues to be very difficult for many communities throughout the state, even which currently has 420 thousand 143 clients without electricity, approximately 2 thousand 920 people evacuating and 199 in some shelter.
Wade Crowfoot, California Secretary of Natural Resources, noted that while Californians are clearly no strangers to these large winter storms coming from the Pacific, "we know that these storms are overloaded by the climate change And given this well-recognized threat, California is pretty well organized to address the vulnerabilities of the threats that we're seeing."
The fifth atmospheric river in recent days is forecast to bring strong winds and several inches of rain and snow across the state from late Sunday through early Monday, with precipitation expected through Monday night, and more thunderstorms are possible throughout the week.
The National Metereological Service it expects "widespread and potentially significant flooding impacts" associated with this storm due to ground saturation from the previous week of rain.
Remember, if you are under a flood warning: find safe shelter immediately; do not walk, swim or drive through floodwaters, just six inches of moving water can topple you, and one foot of moving water can sweep away your vehicle; stay away from bridges over swift water.
Never drive in flooded areas. Avoid non-essential travel during peak storms. If you must drive, download the QuickMap app or visit QuickMap ?ca.gov? for up-to-date information on road conditions, traffic, closures, chain checks and more.
Take an inventory of the items you need that rely on electricity. Plan for batteries and other alternate power sources to meet your needs if the power goes out, such as a portable charger or power bank. Have flashlights for each member of the household. Determine if your home phone will work in a power outage and how long your battery backup will last.
Keep in mind that you can dial 2-1-1 or 3-1-1 for help or questions. If you have a critical emergency, please call 911.
Stay informed by signing up for emergency alerts, including warnings and evacuation notices. Go to www.CalAlerts.org to register and receive alerts from your county officials.
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