Glossary

• Plunged: plunged is a word for something falling into something else like a tree falling into water due to a storm
• Unstable: unstable is a word for something not is not strong and could fall over easily
• Hampered: hampered is a word used for expressing that something has stopped progressing
• Dormant: Dormant is a word used to tell if a plant is alive but not growing
• Inundating: Inundating is a word to describe if something is blocking something else
• Anguished: Anguished is a word for expressing pain

How much damage occurred because of these storms?

There's is no doubt that storms cause a lot of damage, and in California has had this issue due to their latest storms and flooding . Damage can range from simple trees falling over to houses being destroyed or even worse people getting hurt leaving them anguished. Associated Press of the Fox News U.S. has stated that “Flood watches and warnings remained in place for much of Southern California, a day after nearly 4 inches of rain fell south of Los Angeles, inundating roadways, toppling trees and raising fears of damaging mudslides.” The damage caused from these storms affect everything in the area. Most of the time these bad storms can still have affects weeks and even months after they occur. Storms can be unpredictable and can be underestimated when it comes to the strength of the storm. LA times has stated “ Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency late Monday for several counties dealing with an estimated tens of million dollars in damage from flooding, erosion, and mudflows.” These storms have left a lot of damage from flooding to mudslides. This damage is serious and has affected nature in a bad way but it has also affected the communities and people living in the area.

How have these storms affected the people and community?

The storms have cancelled schools, work, as well as closed roads and businesses. The storms have also flooded and destroyed homes of many families. These storms affect everyone in communities. One example of the storms affecting people in the community comes from The Ocean Service. Ocean Service states “If roads are flooded, some people might not be able to easily get to work or school. That could impact California’s coastal economy, which accounts for $662 billion in wages and $1.7 trillion in GDP.” These storms prevent people from going to school, work and their normal everyday schedule by inundating roads. Not only does it affect the community, but it also affects the economy. Northern California is also having problems with snow and avalanches. According to the Associated Press of fox news, rural communities in north California have been digging snow and many schools have been closed. Again these storms are preventing kids from going to school which is important because people need their education. Before these storms there was a massive drought in California and these storms have affected it.

How has this affected the drought in California?

The storms have decreased the drought 42% in the state of California. California was in a drought for a long time and many people had to ration their water supply. It was one of the worst droughts seen in California history. Thanks to the storms it has helped with the drought quite a lot. Most of Northern California has been helped due to these storms. One way it has helped comes from Paul Rogers a journalist for The Mercury News. Rogers states “only 3 percent of the state was classified as not being in a drought. But that number has grown to 42 percent because of this winter’s soaking. Nearly all of Northern California has now returned to normal water conditions.” The quotes says that most of northern California has returned to normal due to the winter storms up their. This is a good example of how storms have both pros and cons to them. The storms have also helped a lot of the California water reservoirs. Linda Lam a journalist for weather.com stated that the rainfall has helped lake and water reservoir levels rise. This shows how the storms have affected the drought in California. With storms they always leave damage in their way and people always have to clean up the aftermath.

How did the storms affect agriculture in California?

These storms have flooded tons of crops and have destroyed a major tourist hotspot. With storms comes damage and they will destroy anything standing in their way including plant life. It has affected farmers everywhere in California and destroyed their crop life making crops dormant. Jeff Daniels a journalist for CNBC news stated “the heavy rains brought flooding to vineyards in Northern California and harvest delays further south for vegetable growers. Some citrus and nut growers were hurt too, including the loss of trees during strong winds”. Most storms help plants with the rain especially during a drought but it rained so much that it drowned the crops. Other than drowning some plants in the the north it did help a lot of agriculture. As the result of these storms a lot of agriculture is destroyed. One example comes from the guardian which talks about a hollowed out tree in Yosemite national park , which people could drive through and has been a big tourist attraction. The guardian had said that the tree that was hollowed out in the 1880s had fallen due to the storms and it being unstable. These storms destroy anything standing in its way no matter how big or strong it is. These storms are very dangerous and many people prepare for these kinds of storms.

In the future, how will people prepare for storms?

California prepares for storms in many ways from supply kits to boarding up their houses. Since California has many different storms come and go they prepare for lots of them. Incase of flooding many people will make supply kits that include drinking water, canned food, first aid, blankets, a radio and flashlights. The California Department of water resources states “Many areas of California are prone to different types of flood events...To ensure you and your family are ready for natural disasters, including floods, develop a family emergency plan, have a household inventory, copies of critical documents and emergency supply kits.” DWR is saying that families should be prepared in the event of a flood and it's very important to be prepared. According to Floodsmart.gov from 2011 to 2015, the average flood claim amounted to more than $46,000. Preparing for a flood is important and safe especially if they are unexpected. Also it could save you a lot of money if you prepare for these storms. Floods can be very dangerous and cause a lot of damage. These storms have left a big affect on people and a lot of damage.