{"id":1806588,"date":"2023-01-15T17:50:02","date_gmt":"2023-01-15T22:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1806588"},"modified":"2023-01-15T17:52:27","modified_gmt":"2023-01-15T22:52:27","slug":"biden-issues-major-disaster-declaration-for-california-alabama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-issues-major-disaster-declaration-for-california-alabama\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden Issues Major Disaster Declaration for California, Alabama"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbiden-issues-major-disaster-declaration-for-california-alabama%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1806588&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47-->\n<p>President\u00a0Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-california\">California<\/a> following storms that have left at least 19 people dead amid widespread flooding, mudslides, and other adverse weather incidents.<\/p>\n<p>A similar declaration was issued in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-alabama\">Alabama<\/a> after\u00a0severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes impacted Alabama on Jan. 12, according to the White House.<\/p>\n<p>On Saturday, Biden issued an order to provide federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts after waves of storms hammered the state starting in late December as part of what the National Weather Service (NWS) is an \u201catmospheric river.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe president\u2019s action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the counties of Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz,\u201d the White House said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2023\/01\/14\/president-joseph-r-biden-jr-approves-california-disaster-declaration-3\/\">statement<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cFederal funding also is available to state, tribal and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work in the counties of Merced, Sacramento, and Santa Cruz.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The NWS said that more rain is expected Sunday and Monday in some parts of California, according to a Sunday bulletin. However, after that, drier weather is anticipated in much of the state<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLower elevation valley\/coastal rain and heavy high elevation mountain snow continue to expand across the west as multiple storm systems affect the region,\u201d the agency <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov\/discussions\/hpcdiscussions.php?disc=pmdspd\">said<\/a>. \u201cThe first system that brought more heavy rain and flooding concerns across California on Saturday is moving through the Great Basin and towards the Rockies today ahead of another system moving in from the Pacific early Monday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Up to two inches of rain was predicted for the already-soaked Sacramento Valley, where residents of semi-rural Wilton, home to about 5,000 people, were ordered to evacuate as the Cosumnes River continued to rise.\u00a0Another three inches of snow and gusty winds were expected in the Sierra Nevada. Interstate 80, a key highway from the San Francisco Bay Area to Lake Tahoe ski resorts, reopened after being closed most of Saturday because of slick roads, snow, and whiteout conditions.<\/p>\n<p>The University of California Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Lab posted on social media Sunday morning that it received 21.5 inches of snow in 24 hours. Its snowpack of about 10 feet (3 meters) was expected to grow several more feet by Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Reports say that at least 19 people have died from storm-related incidents over the past three weeks. Some died in rockslides, falling trees, or flooding, according to the reports.<\/p>\n<p>More than 68,000 utility customers were without power as of Saturday morning, a number that was cut by more than half during the afternoon, <a href=\"https:\/\/poweroutage.us\/\">according<\/a> to Poweroutage.us. That number dwindled to about 12,000 by Sunday afternoon, the website shows.<\/p>\n<p>On Saturday, swollen Salinas River swamped farmland in Monterey County, and to the east, flood warnings were in effect for Merced County in the agricultural Central Valley, where Gov. Gavin Newsom visited to take stock of storm problems.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4982192\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/01\/13\/OC-Rain-7_JF_01052023-1200x758.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy size-medium wp-image-4982192\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/themes\/eet\/images\/white.png\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/OC-Rain-7_JF_01052023-600x379-1.jpeg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"600\" height=\"379\"   style=\"display:none\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4982192\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/OC-Rain-7_JF_01052023-600x379-1.jpeg\" alt=\"Epoch Times Photo\" width=\"600\" height=\"379\" \/><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a> A rainstorm hits the Southland in Newport Beach, Calif., on Jan 5, 2023. (John Fredricks\/The Epoch Times)<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe reality is that this is just the eighth of what we anticipate will be nine atmospheric rivers\u2014we\u2019re not done,\u201d Newsom said at a briefing with local leaders where he urged people to be vigilant about safety for the next 24 to 48 hours.<\/p>\n<p>In a visit to Montecito on Friday, Newsom asked residents to exercise caution, and to heed warnings from public safety officials. \u201cI know how fatigued you all are,\u201d Newsom said. \u201cJust maintain a little more vigilance over the course of the next weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Drought<\/h2>\n<p>The waves of storms and rainfall have lowered California\u2019s drought intensity, according to\u00a0the U.S. Drought Monitor\u2019s latest <a href=\"https:\/\/droughtmonitor.unl.edu\/CurrentMap\/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?West\">report<\/a>. Much of the state is labeled as being in a moderate or severe drought as some portions of the state were <a href=\"https:\/\/ix.cnn.io\/dailygraphics\/graphics\/20230112-california-drought-maps\/static\/media\/ai2html-graphic-desktop.56cc777b.jpg\">considered<\/a> \u201cextreme\u201d two weeks ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGood news is that [the reservoirs] are off historic lows,\u201d Michael Anderson, an official with the state\u2019s Department of Water Resources, told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/01\/12\/us\/california-atmospheric-river-storms-drought-climate\/index.html\">reporters<\/a> on Wednesday. \u201cThe challenge is that they still have a lot of recovery to make before they would be back to normal operating conditions\u2014so something to be mindful of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, one official said that there was a stark difference between what the\u00a0National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s Climate Prediction Center had forecast for winter and what actually happened. The agency predicted below-normal rainfall and snowfall in Southern California and said Northern California would see average precipitation levels.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou have no idea come Dec. 1 what your winter is going to look like because our seasonal forecasts are so bad,\u201d Jeffrey Mount, a senior fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California\u2019s Water Policy Center, told the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/weather\/2023\/01\/15\/california-seasonal-forecasts-noaa-missed\/\">Washington Post<\/a>. \u201cThey are just not reliable enough to make definitive water supply decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>The Associated Press contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-jack-phillips\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2019\/06\/13\/Jack-Phillips.jpg\" alt=\"Jack Phillips\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"names\">\n<p>Breaking News Reporter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Jack Phillips is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times based in New York. He covers breaking news.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"share\">SHARE<\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>President\u00a0Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for California following storms that have left at least 19 people dead amid widespread flooding, mudslides, and other adverse weather incidents. A similar declaration was issued in Alabama after\u00a0severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes impacted Alabama on Jan. 12, according to the White House. On Saturday, Biden issued &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1806591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[8565,3620,5458,4045,14994,4164,4065,3752,3819],"class_list":["post-1806588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-alabama","tag-biden","tag-bongino","tag-california","tag-declaration","tag-disaster","tag-issues","tag-major","tag-report"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1806588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1806588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1806591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1806588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1806588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1806588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}