Monterey County Resilience Digest

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has identified nearly 500 “zones” that are ill-prepared to tolerate flooding, earthquakes, heat waves, wildfires, landslides and other natural hazards. California topped all states with 51 total zones, followed by 35 in Texas and 32 in Florida.

A new study that found human-caused climate warming has increased the frequency of fast-spreading California wildfires has come into question from the unlikeliest of critics—its own lead author.

After California lost over 4 million acres to fire in 2020, the state funded Task Force Rattlesnake, with National Guardsmen to assist Cal Fire.

Summer heatwaves can strain California’s electricity supply, prompting energy emergency notifications to appear across highway signs and social media.

Gavin Newsom signed an executive order aimed at accelerating levee repairs and debris removal to ensure communities along the Pajaro River are prepared for the winter.

Huge winter rains and snow are continuing to reduce fire risk, experts say.

As sea levels rise, many countries are considering a controversial strategy: relocation of communities. A Stanford analysis of planned relocations around the world reveals a blueprint for positive outcomes from an approach often considered a last resort.

Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, has led a coalition to reduce barriers that producers face in accessing agricultural conservation programs that would help farmers deal with the impacts of climate change.

Luis Yauri Oyola hopes one day to buy a tractor to start a business in Peru; he estimates that he is six years away from that goal, for which he will have spent more than a decade of his life living thousands of miles away from his family. He is on call 24/7 and doesn’t leave the job site except for necessities.

According to a new study, roughly 21% of the country can now expect their “1-in-100 year flood” to happen every 25 years.

What are fair premiums that offer homeowners decent protection from risk while providing insurers a fair profit?

California regulators say the state is unlikely to run short of electricity this summer, thanks to new power sources and a wet winter that filled reservoirs to restart hydroelectric power plants shuttered during the drought.

Two key stretches of Highway 1 along the Big Sur coast are expected to reopen to traffic by mid-July, according to Caltrans.

Living in Pajaro, California, means living at the whims of the effects of climate change on both life and property. On March 11, the Pajaro River breached the town levee, flooding the town. It's been seven weeks since the levee breach.

During heavy storms, sediment and brush impediments have a damming effect. Water will flow along the path of least resistance, and when the channel is clogged, that path becomes cropland.

Schools in flood-prone areas, in some cases protected by aging levees, face possible floods similar to those that have already swept through schools in Alameda, Merced and Monterey counties this year, FEMA data shows.

Debris removal is in full swing in Pájaro and adjacent areas but many residents still have questions about how the process works and who is organizing and coordinating the effort.

For most Californians, the sight of aircraft spewing neon pink liquid over flaming trees and brush has become a hallmark of aggressive wildfire suppression campaigns. But some forest advocates say the substance does more harm than good. A federal lawsuit could reshape how the U.S. Forest Service battles wildfires throughout the western United States.

Nearly five times as much was spent on levee maintenance and flood management on the Pajaro River's northern bank in Santa Cruz County than on its southern bank in Monterey County, where the levee failed and flooded the town.

Children have been displaced, with families living out of cars, sleeping in emergency shelters or moving out of Monterey County to stay with relatives.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom visited storm-battered Pájaro, touring flooded areas in a high-water rescue vehicle provided by the California National Guard, and later spoke about the devastation that has afflicted this community and others around the state.

The governor said after seeing the damage in Pajaro, "Anyone has any doubt about Mother Nature and her fury... come to the state of California."

In his initial climate budget proposal, the governor has cut about $561 million from local coastal resilience projects. Legislators, cities express concerns.

January’s storms brought high winds and soil-saturating rains—perfect conditions for knocking over even the healthiest of trees. PG&E responded to over 150 power outages caused by fallen vegetation.

As seismic engineers study the earthquakes that killed more than 20,000, it's becoming clear that a significant cause involved a building design common in California.

The radio station is operated by the nonprofit Natural Bridges Media but its original signal at 90.7 FM does not reach all of Santa Cruz County. Capital funding will now allow it to reach even further.

“There is a camp over there that was evacuated by the police department, but no one was moving because there was no place for them to move to,” Salvation Army Lieutenant Maria Romero said.

Once again, Big Sur Kate has woven a tale that pulls Voices of Monterey Bay readers in from the first sentence she writes.

"It isn't just a slap of the Band-Aid," said one official. "This is going to take some time."

A number of climate researchers say recent storms appear to be typical of the deluges the state has experienced periodically and not the result of global warming.

Like much of California, Monterey County remained in the thick of not just storm recovery but the aftermath.

Some of the most vulnerable Californians can receive thousands of dollars from the state to better protect their homes.