The latest in a damaging succession of storm systems blew into California on Saturday, bringing heavy flooding to already waterlogged regions and threatening snowfalls of up to six feet (two meters) in areas.
The latest system was expected to bring "heavy lower-elevation rain, significant mountain snow, and strong winds," with "another surge of Pacific moisture" expected Monday, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.
It predicted "disastrous flooding" across the lower Salinas River valley, an important agricultural region south of San Francisco Bay.
An AFP journalist saw the Salinas River overtopping its banks in many spots, at times covering farm fields for hundreds of yards (meters), even as the rain continued under leaden skies.
In Spreckels, a community a few hundred yards from the river, most residents had opted not to evacuate despite warnings from authorities.
A few miles away, 30-year-old farm worker Erick Diaz watched the flooded fields from his modest home located near the river. Despite evacuation orders, he too had remained.
"I have nowhere to go and for the moment everything is fine," he said.
Governor Gavin Newsom, however, warned Californians that they were not in the clear yet.
"We're not done," he said Saturday after visiting residents impacted by the storms.
Urging residents to remain vigilant, he said Californians should continue to exercise "common sense over the course of the next 24 to 48 hours."
Nearly 26,000 Californians remained under a flood watch Saturday evening, according to the NWS, with tens of thousands ordered to evacuate.
The storms of recent weeks were originally welcomed -- coming after years of drought -- but by now have brought "disastrous" flooding, officials say.
Around 2330 GMT, there were approximately 20,000 homes without power, according to poweroutage.us.
At least 19 people are known to have died from storm-related causes.
"This place was hit hard by the drought over the past years," 58-year-old farm worker Manuel Paris told AFP near Salinas, adding, "We're not used to this much rain anymore."
The NWS said an additional two to three inches of rain (5.0 to 7.5 centimeters) could cause new flooding and mudslides, with parts of the Sierra Nevada seeing three to six feet of snow, and heavy winds buffeting central and coastal California at up to 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour......more below
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2023/01/15/696346/New-storms-California-disastrous-floods
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova earlier said that the treaty provides for various forms of bilateral cooperation.
The comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Russia and Iran has entered into force, Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali told Sputnik.
"It is already binding," Jalali said when asked about the date of entry into force of the agreement, as well as whether Iran had notified Russia of the completion of internal procedures.
He recalled that the treaty was ratified by both chambers of the Russian parliament, and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed it. At the same time, the document was ratified by the Iranian parliament, approved by the Guardian Council, and the president issued it as a law.
"Therefore, in both countries it currently has the form of a law and, naturally, has entered into force," Jalali said.
On January 17, Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, met in Moscow to sign the Comprehensive Strategic ...
Defying the United States threats, ministers from more than 30 nations have packed Bogotá’s San Carlos Palace to charge the Israeli regime with genocide over its October 2023-present brutal military assault against the Gaza Strip.
The dramatic display of international solidarity saw dozens of high-ranking officials from across the globe convene inside the stately palace on Tuesday, determined to hold the regime accountable for, what they unequivocally called, a “war of genocide.”
The two-day emergency summit, organized under the auspices of The Hague Group -- a coalition co-chaired by Colombia and South Africa -- had representatives, ranging from such countries as Algeria and Brazil to Pakistan and Spain, in attendance.
The participants described the drive as a coordinated effort to stop the Israeli atrocities.
Behind closed doors, ministers and envoys, meanwhile, engaged in intensive sessions aimed at drafting collective measures to pressure the regime -- steps expected to be unveiled by ...
