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-------------------- 2515 - CALIFORNIA - California’s Mega-floods?
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- It is raining, and it is expected to continue to rain for many days in a row. I am starting to worry. Every 200 years California experiences a mega-flood from the rivers in the sky. Our last enormous flood occurred in the year 1861.
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- The Central Valley of California became a lake 300 miles long and 20 miles wide. 800,000 cattle drowned. Downtown Sacramento was under 10 feet of brow water. The Legislature had to move to San Francisco for 6 months before it could return. The state went bankrupt, much like it is today. Although the bank rupture was due to politics, not rain.
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- Today the Central Valley is home to 6,000,000 people that would have to be evacuated in such a flood. 1,400,000 live in Sacramento. Since 1861 the valley floor has sunk 30 feet due to extensive ground water pumping. Flooding would be much worse this time. That land produces $20 billion in crops annually. Estimates are that a smaller 23 day storm would cause $400 billion in property damage and agriculture losses.
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- Sediment cores and radioactive dating have identified major floods in Northern California going back to 212 AD:
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-------------------------------212 AD
-----------------------------------------------------------220 years
-------------------------------440 AD
----------------------------------------------------------163 years
-------------------------------603 AD
---------------------------------------------------------- 426years
-------------------------------1029 AD
---------------------------------------------------------- 71years
-------------------------------1100 AD
----------------------------------------------------------300 years
-------------------------------1400 AD
----------------------------------------------------------250 years
-------------------------------1650 AD
----------------------------------------------------------211 years
-------------------------------1861 AD
----------------------------------------------------------152 years and counting
-------------------------------2013 AD
--------------------------------------------------------AVERAGE: 234 years
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- The 1100 to 1650 dates came from marsh deposits around San Francisco
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- These enormous floods are caused by “ atmospheric rivers”. One mile high. 250 miles across. Extending for thousands of miles. They can carry as much water as 15 Mississippi Rivers. When they are smaller rivers they get the name” pineapple express”. About 9 of these hit California during some of our winter.
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- The rivers are created in the atmosphere by warm, moist air of the tropics rising into the cooler, dry regions and like a conveyor delivery water to Northern California.
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- The good news is that these atmospheric rivers supply 30 to 50 percent of California’s water in the span of 10 days. They also cause 80% of the flooding. So, they are vital to California’s water supply, but, we pay a price for it.
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- Computer models show that a smaller 23 day rain storm will cause more devastation to the state than a 7.8 earthquake. It would cost California’s economy $700,000,000,000.
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- We have 37,691,912 people
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- We have 15,800,000 people who file taxes, some pay nothing even though they file.
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- Each taxpayer would have to pay $44,300 to recover the damages from the storm, for what could be recovered.
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- He who ignores history is destined to repeat it. An announcement will be made shortly, stay tuned. Our Coffee Club will be working on the problem.
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- To learn more:
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---------------- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA
--------------- www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/atmrivers
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--------------- US Geological Survey USGS
-------------- ARkStorm: http://urbanearth.gps.caltech.edu/winter-storm-2
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- December 1, 2019 2515 1544
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--------------------- Sunday, December 1, 2019 --------------------
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