Scientists are calling this potential catastrophe California’s “other Big One,” and they say it could cause 3x as much damage as the hypothetical major earthquake expected to rip along the San Andreas Fault, deemed the “Big One.” This rare mega-storm would last for weeks and send more than 1.5 million people fleeing as floodwaters will inundate cities and form lakes in the Central Valley and Mojave Desert, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. In heavily populated areas of the Los Angeles Basin, epic runoff from the San Gabriel Mountains could rapidly overwhelm a flood control dam on the San Gabriel river and unleash floodwaters from Pico Rivera to Long Beach.
Although it might sound a little impossible given our five years of withering drought and mandatory water restrictions, researchers and engineers warn that California may be due for a rain of biblical proportions. To everyone dubious of a flood in the desert, researchers argue that in a warming world, regions such as California will experience more tremendous shifts between extremely dry and extremely wet periods — similar to how California’s long drought was quickly followed by the wettest rainy season on record from 2016 to 2017.
Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist, said hydrological and forecast data must be updated to compensate for extreme weather patterns. For example, Swain said that until recently, the general belief was that a flood of this magnitude was likely to occur every 1,000 to 10,000 years. New research has changed that view substantially, with the changes caused by global warming. According to Swain, “A newer study suggests the chances of seeing a flood of [this] magnitude over the next 40 years are about 50-50.”
California’s “other Big One” will be a statewide disaster if the state does not update its infrastructure now. There is no predicting when exactly it will hit, but experts say it’s “plausible, perhaps inevitable.” The LA Times reports that the US Army Corps of Engineers is calling for $600 million from the federal government to update infrastructures to prepare for the threat, though this funding will require congressional approval. Climate change is no joke. If this potential catastrophe scares you, click on this link to learn more about what you can do to help our beautiful Earth.