California Communities Prepare for Floods from Melting Snow
2023-04-29
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1This winter, the U.S. state of California received unusually large amounts of rain and snow.
2Now, people worry that some areas will flood as the snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains melts.
3Ron Caetano lives about half-way between the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco.
4He is preparing to leave in case his community, called the Island District, floods.
5"The water is coming this way," said Caetano, who started a Facebook group to help organize his neighbors.
6"I am preparing for the worst and praying for the best and that's all we can do."
7More than 100 years ago, the Island District area was under a large lake named Tulare Lake.
8At one time, Tulare Lake was the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River.
9But dams and watering systems for agriculture caused it to disappear.
10However, in very rainy years, farmland can still get covered with water.
11Experts say reservoirs near the area will likely receive three times more water than they can hold this year.
12That means officials must increase the amount of water they release from the reservoirs.
13If too much water is released, the area might flood.
14The Island District has organized a community network to help prepare for floods.
15People are placing sandbags on elderly neighbors' property to block possible flooding.
16And they are looking at reports from water officials, county officials, and from each other.
17Tony Oliveira is a former county supervisor and the network's administrator.
18His family has lived in the area for generations.
19He said he remembers moving cattle and horses when the rains came in 1983, and will do the same this time, if necessary.
20California has had very dry weather in recent years.
21Both cities and farm communities welcomed this year's winter rains.
22If the weather gets warmer slowly, the snow will not melt quickly and there may be little or no flooding.
23But if the weather gets hot quickly, that will bring trouble from too much melting snow.
24Officials announced plans to temporarily close parts of Yosemite National Park starting on April 28 because of threats of flooding.
25The park is about 270 kilometers east of San Francisco in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
26California governor Gavin Newsom visited the Tulare Lake area recently and said the situation will likely become worse.
27"Where we're standing likely will be underwater in a matter of weeks, if not months," he said.
28Dusty Ference is executive director of the Kings County Farm Bureau.
29He said more than 242 square kilometers of the area's farmland has already flooded.
30Nicholas Pinter is with the University of California, Davis Center for Watershed Sciences.
31He said the lake's size has always changed because of California's weather.
32He said farmers have known there would be times like the current situation.
33He described the surrounding area this way.
34"It has been an engineering problem all along," he said.
35"This is a bathtub with no drain."
36I'm Andrew Smith.
1This winter, the U.S. state of California received unusually large amounts of rain and snow. Now, people worry that some areas will flood as the snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains melts. 2Ron Caetano lives about half-way between the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. He is preparing to leave in case his community, called the Island District, floods. 3"The water is coming this way," said Caetano, who started a Facebook group to help organize his neighbors. "I am preparing for the worst and praying for the best and that's all we can do." 4More than 100 years ago, the Island District area was under a large lake named Tulare Lake. At one time, Tulare Lake was the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River. But dams and watering systems for agriculture caused it to disappear. However, in very rainy years, farmland can still get covered with water. 5Experts say reservoirs near the area will likely receive three times more water than they can hold this year. That means officials must increase the amount of water they release from the reservoirs. If too much water is released, the area might flood. 6The Island District has organized a community network to help prepare for floods. People are placing sandbags on elderly neighbors' property to block possible flooding. And they are looking at reports from water officials, county officials, and from each other. 7Tony Oliveira is a former county supervisor and the network's administrator. 8His family has lived in the area for generations. He said he remembers moving cattle and horses when the rains came in 1983, and will do the same this time, if necessary. 9California has had very dry weather in recent years. Both cities and farm communities welcomed this year's winter rains. If the weather gets warmer slowly, the snow will not melt quickly and there may be little or no flooding. But if the weather gets hot quickly, that will bring trouble from too much melting snow. 10Officials announced plans to temporarily close parts of Yosemite National Park starting on April 28 because of threats of flooding. The park is about 270 kilometers east of San Francisco in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. 11California governor Gavin Newsom visited the Tulare Lake area recently and said the situation will likely become worse. 12"Where we're standing likely will be underwater in a matter of weeks, if not months," he said. 13Dusty Ference is executive director of the Kings County Farm Bureau. He said more than 242 square kilometers of the area's farmland has already flooded. 14Nicholas Pinter is with the University of California, Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. He said the lake's size has always changed because of California's weather. He said farmers have known there would be times like the current situation. 15He described the surrounding area this way. 16"It has been an engineering problem all along," he said. "This is a bathtub with no drain." 17I'm Andrew Smith. 18Amy Taxin and Jae C. Hong reported this story for The Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English. 19____________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21reservoir -n. a body of water that is meant to store water for use by people and agriculture 22bathtub -n. a large container that people take baths in 23drain -n. a part of a container that lets liquid pour out 24We want to hear from you. 25We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 26Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.