#capitola and carmel are flooded and being evacuated

[bean-chaointe]

During a break in the storm.

Santa Cruz, California (1/5/23)

#california #santa cruz #it's been wild #capitola and carmel are flooded and being evacuated #a few piers have been taken out #natural bridges state park has lost one of its cliffsides #the local reports are saying ocean swells are 20-30 feet higher than usual #meanwhile those of us up in the mountains are hunkering down with camp stoves and lanterns #crossing our fingers that a tree doesn't fall and take out the cabin #i'm sure some folks out there are like 'ugh californians are overreacting' but like #we haven't had rain like this since 1847 #we don't have the infrastructure and also we've been in a drought for...idk like over a decade? #we desperately need this rain but oof it's gonna be a time and a half in the process #also our wildfires in the last few years have been so bad that whole swathes of land are still burnscars #which means no vegetation to hold the ground together #when you pair that with sudden heavy rain you get debris flows which can swallow roads and houses #so like...it's A Lot of different things. not 'just' rain.