California governor declared a state of emergency due to heavy rain

This Sunday, the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, declared a state of emergency for several counties in Southern California, due to winter storms that began to affect much of the state with strong winds, damaging rains and heavy snowfall.

The state of emergency applies to eight counties: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura.

The decree includes provisions that authorize the California National Guard to respond if necessary, facilitate unemployment benefits for affected residents and make it easier for contractors and utilities in other states to repair damage caused by the storm, according to Newsom's office.

“California is prepared with a record number of emergency assets on the ground to respond to the impacts of this storm,” Newsom said in a statement.

According to PowerOutages.us, more than 790,000 California customers experienced power outages Sunday night.

The U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) issued a hurricane wind warning for the central coast.

“Additional areas with heavy rain are expected in the coastal ranges of central and northern California and in the Central Valley during the afternoon and evening,” the NWS said.

A flash flood warning is in effect for parts of the south and central coast, including areas in Los Angeles, where officials warned of one of the “most dramatic days of bad weather in recent memory.”

Mazo News Team