“The federal government is not leaving its responsibility until it’s all fixed, it’s done,” President Joe Biden told a gathering at Seacliff State Beach on Thursday afternoon after visits to Watsonville, Capitola and a helicopter tour of storm damage across Santa Cruz County.
Weather
Posted inLatest News
Santa Cruz County, other parts of California in for ‘quick shot of rain’ before drier weather arrives
A series of atmospheric river storms that dropped record-breaking rain and unleashed chaos across California will end with a whimper this week.
Posted inLatest News
Biden to visit Watsonville, Capitola, Seacliff State Beach in tour of Santa Cruz County storm damage
White House officials said President Joe Biden and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell would spend around three hours Thursday afternoon meeting with local officials and residents and touring areas of Santa Cruz County devastated by landslides, flooding and surf swells.
Posted inLatest News
Devastating storms might be over, but officials caution California to stay vigilant
As the skies begin to clear and a relentless series of atmospheric rivers finally start to move out of California, emergency and flood officials across the state might finally be able to catch a break.
Posted inCoast Life
Paradise with a price: John Laird’s long view of dealing with the aftermath of natural disaster
Before he was state Sen. John Laird, he was the County of Santa Cruz’s John Laird, and before that, he was Santa Cruz mayor, city councilmember and staffer John Laird. They were formative years for observing and responding to disasters. And they taught him perspective both on accepting nature’s random, inevitable penance and finding ways to make this uniquely disaster-prone county as ready as possible for the next lashing.
Posted inLatest News
California bracing for one final round of storms as officials assess damage
Another moderate storm moved into California Sunday evening, but meteorologists also say there’s good news on the horizon. The series of storms that has ravaged the state, flooding communities, forcing evacuations, shutting down major highways and leading to at least 19 deaths, should come to an end this week.
Posted inLatest News
36 inches in Ben Lomond as Santa Cruz County looks to match or set rainfall records
Dry weather is in front of us, as the last few drops fall from the skies the next couple of days. In the San Lorenzo Valley, 51 inches has fallen since the Oct. 1 beginning of “rainy season,” 3 feet in the past three weeks. Meanwhile Monday, 3,796 people remained without power, and though 67 roads were closed within the county, major transportation arteries like Highways 1, 17, 152 and 129 were open.
![FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell [second from right] views damage to Seacliff State Beach with state and local officials.](https://i0.wp.com/lookout.co/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/urlhttp3A2F2Flookout-local-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com2F152F522F4259b26b416c9ef9b4f4da12953c2F97a2656.jpg?resize=872%2C490&ssl=1)
Posted inLatest News
Where we stand on Sunday: Biden declares major disaster in Santa Cruz County amid more storm evacuations, flooding
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and members of her staff visited parts of Rio Del Mar and Capitola, and were set to survey areas of San Lorenzo Valley as part of a multiday tour to asses whether to issue a major disaster declaration for Santa Cruz County communities devastated by floods, landslides and power outages after several rounds of intense storms.
Posted inLatest News
California braces for more storms. When will they hit and how bad will they be?
Northern California, already battered by severe flooding, is expected to be at higher risk than Southern California as more rain rolled in Friday.
Posted inLatest News
Storm damage: On Highway 17, a huge pothole nicknamed ‘Potzilla’ is chewing up commuters’ tires
Since a series of storms began on New Year’s Eve, Californians have taken to social media to share images of sinkholes and potholes. On Highway 17, a “Potzilla” in a southbound lane has caused numerous flat tires near The Cats Restaurant and Tavern in Los Gatos. A Caltrans spokesperson said workers have repaired the pothole several times in recent weeks “but the unprecedented amount of rain will just wash away the asphalt mix.”
