Blackout As 16 Die In California Flooding

Authorities have announced that at least 16 people have been killed by flooding caused by the storm raging in California, LA Times reports.

“These floods are deadly and have now turned to be more deadly than even the wildfires here in the state of California,” Governor Gavin Newsom said during a news conference over the weekend.

While it’s too early to know exactly how much the damage from these storms will cost California, it could reach or exceed $1bn, according to Adam Smith, an applied climatologist and disaster expert with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Last year the US experienced 18 weather and climate disasters costing at least $1bn, putting 2022 in a three-way tie with 2017 and 2011 for the third highest number of billion-dollar disasters in a year, according to a report published by the agency.