U.S. President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency in California on Friday, accelerating federal aid for a devastating storm that has hit the region for weeks and continues throughout the weekend.
The decision came at the request of Governor Gavin Newsom, who warned that at least 16 million people were threatened by flooding. Floods occur when large amounts of snow that accumulate during February storm waves melt.
At least 13 people have died in recent weeks in the southern part of the state, particularly in remote communities in the mountains of San Bernardino and San Gabriel east of Los Angeles.
For all these reasons, the White House is validating this proclamation, which applies to the counties of Amador, Butte, Eldorado, Fresno, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Lake, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, and Mono. Did. , Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Francisco, San Mateo, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Sierra, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Tureale, Tuolumne, Yuba.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is empowered to “identify, mobilize, and contribute, at its discretion, the equipment and resources necessary to mitigate the effects of an emergency and prevent catastrophe” in the aforementioned areas.
The storm system generally threatens 23 states across the country, from California through New York, Minnesota or Michigan, with up to about 70 million people on alert for snowfall or torrential rains of varying intensity. .
Source: Diario.Elmundo
