California: Dam breaks after heavy weather

Snow, rain and no end in sight: California has been battered by severe storms for weeks. Currently, the Bajaro River is overflowing due to the breach of the dam.

A dam across the Bajaro River in central California broke during a severe storm in the US state of California. Residents of surrounding communities were earlier asked to evacuate their homes.

Rescue workers helped those who did not heed the appeals. In other areas, people have been warned to leave their homes and move to higher ground.

Heavy rain and snow

California is currently experiencing heavy rain and snow. At least two people have died in connection with the storms in the past few days, according to the local emergency services office.

Since January, the state on the west coast of the US, which has suffered frequent droughts and droughts in the past, has repeatedly been hit by unusually heavy rains. California’s higher elevations, on the other hand, have seen unusual amounts of snow in recent weeks.

The reason for the current high rainfall is a weather phenomenon called “atmospheric flow”. According to the German weather service, it means “a relatively narrow, directed band of moisture-saturated air” about 500 kilometers wide and 2,000 kilometers long. Such systems carried most of the water vapor out of the tropics.

Aid to the State

Governor Gavin Newsom said California is “using every means possible to protect communities from relentless and deadly storms.” US President Joe Biden on Friday cleared the way for state aid to the state.