California is being battered by a deadly weather system that has dumped more than three feet of rain in some areas — but a Biblical storm is brewing that makes this catastrophic flood seem like just a drizzle.
Scientists have studied a hypothetical disaster scenario called an ARkstorm, which occurred after the “Great Flood of 1862,” which flooded a 300-mile (480-kilometer) swath of the state.
According to projections, the ARkstorm would see walls of water more than six meters high, displace more than five million people and cause at least $700 billion in damage.
While weather experts have assured the public that the current system is not the feared megastorm, studies have predicted that there is a 30 percent chance that one will strike in the next thirty years.
According to projections, the ARkstorm would see walls of water more than 20 feet high, displace more than five million people and cause at least $700 billion in damage – making the current storm resemble just a drizzle.
The ArkStorm flood is also called “the other big one,” after the nickname of an expected major earthquake on the San Andreas Fault.
But unlike an earthquake, the ArkStorm would lead to a catastrophe over a much larger area.
Daniel Swain, a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, who studied the ARkstorm scenario, said: ‘In the future scenario, the range of storms is larger in almost every respect.
‘Overall there will be more rainfall, more intense rainfall on an hourly basis and stronger winds.
‘The heaviest local showers will also become considerably heavier. Some of the peaks of the future scenario resemble the heavy Texas-style downpours.
Scientists have studied a hypothetical disaster scenario called an ARkstorm, which occurred after the “Great Flood of 1862,” which flooded a 300-mile (480-kilometer) swath of the state. Pictured is K Street, Sacramento during the Flood
California is being hit by a deadly weather system that has dropped more than 14 inches of rain in some areas, such as Los Angeles (pictured)
“These intense hourly rainfall events – unusual for California – could cause major problems in urban and other populated areas.”
The current atmospheric river system, called the Pineapple Express, has killed at least three people since Sunday.
All three were killed by fallen trees: 82-year-old David Gomes in the former gold rush town of Yuba City and a 45-year-old Robert Brainard II in Boulder Creek in the Santa Cruz Mountain coastal range.
Since then, Los Angeles has been inundated with 10 inches of rain — or 75 percent of annual rainfall in just five days, causing 120 mudslides Monday night.
Meanwhile, 130 miles of the coast in San Diego, roads turned into rivers and officials warned residents not to drive to work Tuesday morning.
When the storm was predicted to hit, many people took to social media to share news of an impending flood that would be “the worst natural disaster in world history” – and explained that it was not ARkstorm.
The current atmospheric river system, called the Pineapple Express, has killed at least three people since Sunday
Since then, Los Angeles has been inundated with 10 inches of rain — or 75 percent of its annual rainfall in just five days, causing 120 mudslides Monday night.
That kind of weather pattern draws heat and moisture from the tropical Pacific Ocean, forming a series of atmospheric rivers that approach hurricane intensity and then slam into the West Coast for several weeks.
The USGS said a storm of the magnitude of the one that hit in 1861 is “inevitable” and widely considered the worst and longest on record.
Such a flood would inundate parts of cities like Sacramento, Fresno and Los Angeles, even with the current extensive collection of reservoirs, levees and bypasses.
The UCLA study predicted that an ARk storm would generate 200 to 400 percent more runoff in the Sierra Nevada Mountains due to increased precipitation and more precipitation falling as rain, not snow.
Meanwhile, 130 miles along the coast in San Diego, roads turned into rivers and officials warned residents not to drive to work Tuesday morning
It would take several weeks to form an ARkstorm, which would hopefully give them time to better prepare when it arrived.
The increased runoff could lead to devastating landslides and debris flows, especially in hilly areas burned by forest fires.
“A severe winter storm in California could realistically flood thousands of square miles of urban and agricultural land, result in thousands of landslides, disrupt lifelines across the state for days or weeks, and cost on the order of $725 billion,” the USGS said website. .
“The $725 billion figure includes approximately $400 billion in property damage and $325 billion in business interruption losses.”
The scenario would also see about 25 percent of buildings across the state flooded.
“Unlike earthquakes, we can partially predict important aspects of the geophysical phenomena that would cause damage in the days before an ARkStorm hits,” USGS said.
‘Improving the accuracy, turnaround time and specific measurements that these systems can estimate is a major challenge, both scientifically and practically.’