3COM Weather Report: Clinton declares storm disaster in California
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 10 - President Clinton declared much of
California a major disaster area Monday as the state's rain-weary
residents prepared to get pummeled again by a fresh storm moving in
from the Pacific.
Clinton's announcement opened the door for federal aid to 27
California counties which have been hit with flooding, mudslides,
evacuations and power outages caused by a string of El Nino-driven
storms that began Feb. 2.
"My administration is committed to ensuring a speedy recovery
from this extraordinary natural disaster," Clinton said in a statement.
Monday provided a brief respite of sunny skies across the West
Coast, allowing relief officials to ready sandbags and other
emergency measures before the next storm front was due to hit early
Tuesday morning.
In the Mexican border cities of Tijuana and Rosarito, where 13
people were killed by floods and mudslides on Sunday, police and
military personnel were out on the streets on Monday trying to
remove tons of mud left from floodwaters that overturned cars,
inundated businesses and washed out homes in low-lying areas.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service said Monday the new
storm bearing down on northern California was not as powerful as the
three which slammed the state this month. But they noted that with
rivers, streams and reservoirs already full, even moderate rain could
threaten more flooding.
"This next one will not be what we've seen in the past, neither in
rain or winds," said Michael Mercer of NWS. "But we will definitely
be watching the smaller streams, and of course the Russian and Napa
rivers."
The San Francisco area has been hit with more than nine inches of
rain so far this month, making it the third wettest February since
1848, when measurements began. With two more storm fronts
expected to move into the area on Thursday and again on Saturday,
many expected the season to go down in the record books.
"This definitely has the potential for being the wettest February
ever recorded," Mercer said.
El Nino, the band of unusually warm water in the Pacific Ocean, is
believed responsible for at least some of the bad weather, which has
been held responsible for at least five deaths in California over the
past week.
As Californians assessed the damage, Clinton's declaration made
federal funding available to individuals and local governments for
disaster housing, grants, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property
losses, and other measures.
About 3,500 residents of Pajaro and San Gerardo in Monterey
County south of San Francisco were allowed to return to their homes
Monday after officials determined that the Pajaro River had receded
back to safe levels.
"But residents and business owners were being advised that they
must remain ready to re-evacuate at short notice," said Alan
Miyamoto of the Monterey Office of Emergency Services.
Mexican officials reported seven deaths in Tijuana and six in
Rosarito after Sunday's storm. "Most of them were children who
drowned trying to cross bridges or when the current swept them
away," said Fabiola Haros, a staff member of the Tijuana press office.
She said more than 300 people were in shelters, most of them in
Tijuana. More than a dozen trucks and heavy pieces of equipment
were sent to Tijuana on Monday by San Diego Mayor Susan Golding
to help in the cleanup effort.
To the north, in Lake County about 110 miles north of San
Francisco, Clear Lake overflowed on Sunday, causing a mandatory
evacuation of 300 to 400 homes.
Evacuations were also ordered in the little town of Rio Nido, a
resort on the Russian River in Sonoma County, where six houses
were destroyed by mudslides and a weakened hillside was threatening
even more.
California's Office of Emergency Services said more than 1,150
homes and 280 other buildings were damaged by the storms, but it
was too early for a total damage estimate.
The Amtrak rail service, which has suffered delays and
cancellations throughout California since the storms began, planned
to resume service around San Francisco and the Central Valley
Tuesday, but coastal services would remain out, Amtrak spokesman
Dominick Albano said.
"We're taking it day by day," Albano said.
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