Such devastation due to flood in America, Emergency had to be imposed: 19 died, loss of 2 lakh crores; Know the atmospheric river which is bringing storm

Posted on 16th Jan 2023 by rohit kumar

The US state of California is in the grip of a dangerous storm. So far 19 people have lost their lives due to the storm that has been going on for two weeks. How serious the situation in California is can be gauged from the fact that President Biden declared an emergency there on Sunday.

 

According to America's National Weather Service, there is a possibility of heavy rain on Monday as well. This will increase California's problems even more. The Atmospheric River is said to be responsible for this horrific storm.

 

Now first of all understand from the graphic what is an atmospheric river?

 

According to the New York Times, California has been hit by 8 atmospheric rivers in the past two weeks. According to the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, as many atmospheric rivers are formed in California in a whole year, they were formed in a few weeks. Somewhere it is raining in the form of rain and somewhere it is bringing snow storm. Right now two more atmospheric rivers are expected to come to California.

 

75 thousand people were asked to go to a safe place

According to emergency officials, a warning has been issued to 75 thousand of people from the state to reach a safe place. More than 20 thousand people are forced to live without electricity.

 

Many highways, roads, and bridges in California have been destroyed by water. Many houses have either been damaged or collapsed. Due to heavy rains, storms, and floods in California, a loss of 2 lakh crore rupees ($ 30 billion) has been feared so far. According to Bloomberg's report, many businesses in California have come to a standstill due to the storm. This loss figure is an estimate. The actual loss will be assessed after the situation becomes normal.

 

In the city of Sacramento, which is also known as the City of Trees in America, about 1000 trees have fallen in the last 6 days. According to the US Forest Service, some trees that fell in the storm were 80 to 100 years old. The northern part of California was the first to be hit by the storm. Landslides, flood waters, and fallen trees have blocked all roads here. Due to poor conditions in San Luis Obispo County, authorities called off the search for a 5-year-old boy who was thrown from his mother's arms.

 

This is how the storm pattern changed in California in the last 20 days

 

The storm started in California after Christmas i.e. on 26 December. As of December 30, rainfall from the storm in California was between 4 inches and 6 inches. Whereas after December 30, the storm started causing havoc. By January 13, the rains picked up the pace and the average rainfall in a day increased from 6 inches to 10 inches. In Santa Barbara, more than 20 inches of rain was recorded in one day in January.

 

According to a New York Times report, winds gusted more than 50 miles per hour in many areas of California. On January 8, winds gusted up to 39 mph were reported in the Central Valley and San Francisco. The speed of the storm is expected to slow down this week. At the same time, according to some weather reports, the 9th Atmospheric River can engulf California.

 

'California's hurricane is one of the biggest storms in history

 

The Director of Emergency Services at the California Governor's Office said the storm was one of the biggest storms in the state's history. This California flood reminded people of the flood of 1861. Even then, during Christmas itself, floods started wreaking havoc. According to the report of Michael D. Dettinger, a researcher of the US Geological Survey, the flood of 1861 continued for 43 days. At that time also such conditions were created in California due to the atmospheric river.

 

After all, how and why Atmospheric River is formed?

Atmospheric rivers are generally formed in tropical regions. Due to the hot temperature there, sea water turns into steam and accumulates in the atmosphere. Strong winds drive the water vapor toward the upper surface of the atmosphere. During this, water vapor moves from one place to another on the surface of the earth like a river with strong winds.

 

'Pineapple Express' is the name of the world's largest and most dangerous atmospheric river. Its maximum effect is seen in the western part of America and Canada. Because of this 'Pineapple Express', it is raining up to 5 inches in a day at many places in California.

 

California's drought will not end even with dangerous floods

While California is in the grip of floods. At the same time, according to an estimate, even this flood will not be able to reduce the drought there. According to the Washington Post report, due to the heat wave that has been going on in California for the last three years, there has been so much drought that this flood will have little effect on it. Daniel McEvoy, a researcher at the Desert Research Institute of Nevada, said in California Compared to the excessive rains, the intensity of heat is increasing there in the summer season.

 

Also Read: Pakistan: Water logging increases difficulties even after 4 months of a flood, 4 million children forced to live near contaminated water