What did we see that alarmed us?
Here at Weinstein Construction, we monitor continuously all news sources for relevant scientific and construction industry-related intelligence. We do this so that we can bring you, our clients, the most up-to-date advice on how to protect your homes and families.
Over the past few days, we have come across some scientific predictions which make us very concerned about the health and safety of homeowners in our fair City of Los Angeles. In fact, it is about a disaster that can occur in California on a scale that is “larger than any in world history” (and it’s not an earthquake!).
As such, we decided to write a two-part blog about these scientific forecasts, to inform our clients and friends about these dangers! Next week, come back to this blog to read what you can actually do to safeguard your home and family!
The headlines we read this week are explosive!
USA Today on August 13, 2022 said: “Experts warn California of a disaster ‘larger than any in world history.’ It’s not an earthquake.”
CNN on August 14, 2022, said: “A disastrous megaflood is coming to California, experts say, and it could be the most expensive natural disaster in history.”
What is the issue here?
What is this about? Well, here is where it gets interesting! For the longest time, we have been worrying about droughts, wildfires, and earthquakes in the Greater Los Angeles area. However, top scientists from UCLA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research are now predicting that climate change will also lead to an “atmospheric river” of intense rainfall and devastating mudslides and landslides, especially in hillside areas that were burned by wildfire.
A study titled “Climate change is increasing the risk of a California megaflood” which describes this potentially biblical weather event was just published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances, a publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
In fact, scientists have been studying this issue for over ten years, and have called it the “ArkStorm scenario,” so-named after its potential to cause a rain event of biblical proportions in our region. In fact, major floods have happened here before! For example, the “Great Flood of 1862” saw extreme floodwaters of up to 300 miles long, and 60 miles across the Central Valley. At that time, 4,000 people lost their lives and ¼ of the entire State of California’s economy was wiped out, causing a state-wide bankruptcy.
Scientists are now saying it can happen again – and be even worse – with extreme storms that can last a month and bring us more than 100 inches of rain at a time! Needless to say, if such weather was to recur, Stockton, Fresno, and Los Angeles would be under water, even with today’s reservoirs, levees, and bypasses. The effect on homeowners would be catastrophic, with vast areas of greater Los Angeles underwater, which would make it impossible to evacuate the 5 to 10 million people displaced by flood waters. The disruptions to infrastructure would be severe, with interstate highways such as I-5 and I-80 shut down for weeks or even months. Such a flood is predicted to be a $1 trillion disaster which would devastate thousands of homes and claim thousands of lives.
What can we do to protect our homes and families?
Here in the Greater Los Angeles region, we have already seen record-breaking numbers of droughts and wildfires related to climate change. And now this threat of mega-flooding is not a risk that we can tolerate without acting. There is something that we can all do! Come back next week to read our next blog which will discuss effective ways to make sure that our homes are not damaged by heavy rain, soil erosion, and flooding. We will discuss building retaining walls that protect our property from water and debris that runs off hills damaged by wildfires.
Our in-home consultative visits are completely free of charge! We are the Los Angeles region’s best retaining walls contractor and basement waterproofing companies, and we also do leaky basement repair, basement wall sealing, basement waterproofing and French drainage installation! call Weinstein Construction today at (800) 862-6582 for a free inspection and review of all your needs!
Adapted from:
David Colgan, UCLA Newsroom, “Climate change makes catastrophic flood twice as likely, study shows” (August 12, 2022).
Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, “Experts warn California of a disaster ‘larger than any in world history.’ It’s not an earthquake.” (August 13, 2022).
Payton Major, Judson Jones, and Brandon Miller, CNN, “A disastrous megaflood is coming to California, experts say, and it could be the most expensive natural disaster in history.” (August 14, 2022).
