Monterey County Local News: Resilience

Surveying the flood damage at his family’s century-old farm outside of Castroville, Mike Scattini is relieved things weren’t any worse.

Additional disaster relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been approved to make permanent repairs to roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

That phrase has become a loaded term, because so-called “natural” disasters are often exacerbated by humans burning fossil fuels.

Where an aging, low-income, 40-unit apartment building once sat at 1115 Parkside St. in Salinas, there are now two gleaming buildings featuring 80 units for low-income seniors. At one time, the old building that was torn down was connected by…

For people who live in Big Sur—accessible via Highway 1 and a series of rugged dirt roads—highway closures come with the season.

As Monterey County residents and business owners take a breath after the storm, it's time to begin the next phase: recovery.

As parts of the Carmel Valley flooded, it highlighted the stark risks of living in a floodplain. But for residents and businesses in lower Carmel Valley, there is hope that in the future those risks will be less.

Even before the recent wave of winter storms hit, some local jurisdictions began declaring emergencies.

For the first time, Monterey County communicated crucial public safety information in English, Spanish and Mixteco. “We hope to do more of that in the future,” says Supervisor Luis Alejo.

Severe winter storms have resulted in road closures, evacuation orders and water rescues, with possibly more rain to come this weekend.

Monterey County officials say they are taking an “all hands on deck” approach to shepherding the region through the ongoing storm that has swept the region this week.

The county has set up a page with updates on evacuations, evacuation centers and other helpful information.

At about 1:30am on Sept. 20, infrared cameras picked up on unusual heat in a Tesla megapack battery at PG&E’s Elkhorn Battery plant in Moss Landing. That prompted a call to 911.