170k Californians without power as ‘bomb cyclone’ batters the West Coast with heavy rainfall

More than 170,000 are without power in California as the ‘bomb cyclone’ batters the West Coast with heavy rain and 85mph winds.

Peak wind gusts reach up to 85 mph in central California, with many areas seeing gusts up to 50 mph.

“If you still have power, it’s a good idea to charge your cell phones, computers and tablets now while you can,” said a National Weather Service meteorologist.

The wind is so strong that a Valero gas station in San Francisco tilted under its weight. The upper structure is now on its side as gasoline pumps are ripped from the ground at King Drive and Callan Boulevard.

The bomb cyclone has not yet reached its maximum intensity as it moves along the coast, causing 45-foot waves in the sea; rising water levels in San Francisco and the fact that Sacramento fire crews have to carry out rescues.

The wind toppled the structure as gusts reached up to 85 mph.

The bomb cyclone (pictured) has torn through the state, bringing heavy rain for up to 30 hours and could potentially cause loss of life.

Los Angeles can expect two to three inches of rain through Sunday, while Big Sur can expect three to five, according to the weather channel.

Governor Gavin Newsom has already declared a state of emergency as the state faces deadly flash flood warnings, especially along coastal areas. California officials also ordered evacuations in high-risk coastal areas.

Authorities have also warned people across Northern California to stay off the roads.

“We anticipate this may be one of the most challenging and impactful series of storms to make landfall in California in the last five years,” said Nancy Ward, the new director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

The storm, which brought howling winds to Northern California Wednesday night, is one of three so-called atmospheric river storms in the past week to hit the drought-stricken state.

In southern California, the storm was expected to peak overnight, with Santa Barbara and Ventura counties likely to see the most rain, forecasters said.

The first evacuations have been ordered for those living in areas burned by three recent wildfires in Santa Barbara County, where heavy rains forecast overnight could cause widespread flooding and trigger debris flows. County officials did not have a firm number for how many people were under evacuation orders, but Susan Klein-Rothschild, a spokeswoman for the county’s emergency operations center, estimated it was in the hundreds.

Sacramento fire crews had to rescue a resident due to heavy flooding in the area.

The water levels are so high that it is submerging cars and has already killed three people.

A bridge in Oakland was closed due to high water levels

Among the towns ordered to evacuate was Montecito, where five years ago massive rocks, mud and debris swept up the mountains through the town to the coast, killing 23 people and destroying more than 100 homes. The city is home to many celebrities, including Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle.

“What we’re talking about here is a lot of water coming off the top of the hills, going down into creeks and creeks and as it goes down, it gains momentum and that’s the initial danger,” the Fire Department chief said. from Montecito. Kevin Taylor said.

Elsewhere, a 45-mile stretch of Coastal Highway 1, which runs through Big Sur, was closed Wednesday night in anticipation of flooding and rockfall. Farther north, a 25-mile stretch of Highway 101 was closed due to several downed trees.

Authorities asked drivers to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary, as the storm is forecast to dump up to 10 inches of rain on an area where the foothills have already been saturated for the past month.

As of Wednesday night, nine Northern California counties were under a flood watch or warning.

Evacuation orders have been issued in Santa Cruz County’s Paradise Park along the rushing St. Lawrence River, as well as areas along the Pajaro River. Residents fleeing the wildfires in the Santa Cruz Mountains in 2020 were packing their bags as the cities of Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond and Felton were warned to be prepared to evacuate.

The thunderstorm has caused California to declare a state of emergency and some areas have issued evacuations.

Nearly the entire coastline is under a flood watch as some areas are still recovering from the New Year’s Eve storm.

Sonoma County authorities issued an evacuation warning for residents along a stretch of the Russian River.

Meanwhile, the 8,500 sandbags distributed by officials weren’t enough to meet demand as forecasters warned of imminent flooding.

Residents are also warned to watch out for mudslides due to heavy rain, which could deliver up to an inch an hour in some areas, the National Weather Service in San Francisco said.

The rain is expected to last around 30 hours and will not stop until Thursday night.

Three deaths have already been confirmed in Sacramento due to flooding.

The Sacramento Sheriff’s Office recovered a submerged body from a vehicle Wednesday. In San Francisco, he had to rescue a family after a tree fell and caught them.

With California already hit by a devastating storm on New Year’s Eve, which already drenched the state with five inches of rain, according to USA Today.

Already saturated ground could cause landslides and mudslides, and the worst flooding occurs in low-elevation areas.