A moderate quake shook northern California on New Year’s Day, and a stronger one nearly two weeks ago killed two people and caused widespread damage, officials said.
A preliminary magnitude-5.4 earthquake struck at 10:35 a.m. Sunday about nine miles southeast of Riedell in Humboldt County, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Rio Del was the epicenter of the 6.4-magnitude earthquake on December 20, which killed two people, injured more than a dozen, shook homes from their foundations, damaged water systems and cut power to thousands. Did.
Meanwhile, record rains hit New Year’s Eve, causing power outages for tens of thousands of Californians.
Sunday’s clear skies provided respite from the torrential rains, but another large storm was slated to cross the western Pacific and drench California in the coming days.
Nurse Katie Leonard (left) helps Scott Mathers (right) after Mathers’ mother Patsy Costello, 88, was trapped in her car for over an hour on Astrid Drive in Pleasant Hill, California, Saturday, Dec. 31. ). , 2022. When her car stalled in two feet of water, Costello drove her car through the flooded streets, thinking she could make it. After two hours, the water had receded by about a foot, facilitating her rescue. The police were called but stood by and watched after calling a tow truck to help pull the car out of the water.Pleasant Katie, her hill nurse, and Leonard, who lives nearby. , using the kayak to bring Costello hot tea, blankets, food and a phone to call friends. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group via AP)APs
Northern California took the hit of the weekend. A flash flood closed a major road just south of Sacramento on Sunday. highway 99More than 41,000 customers remained without electricity on Sunday morning.
Auckland had its wettest Saturday since 1970, with 4.75 inches of rain. He got 5.46 inches of rain in San Francisco, making Saturday his second wettest day in more than 170 years, according to the National Weather Service.
Highway 101 south of San Francisco was closed due to flooding just as we were heading out to celebrate New Year’s Eve, but reopened just hours before midnight.
California’s drought isn’t over yet, but the wet weather that closed out 2022 has allowed at least some of the state’s major reservoirs to exceed their historical average water supplies.
The release of water from the Folsom and Nimbus Dams has caused state park officials to warn of a safety hazard in Lake Natoma, as water levels rise rapidly and create dangerously strong currents.
In Los Angeles, forecasters expect rain Monday afternoon or evening, followed by a strong Pacific storm with heavy rain and strong winds late Wednesday and Thursday.