California rainstorm death toll reaches 20

Ryan Orosco, of Brentwood, carries his son Johnny, 7, on his back while his wife Amanda Orosco waits to be rescued from their flooded home in California Monday. Pic/AP

The parade of atmospheric rivers that pounded California for three weeks finally faded on Monday, enabling the state to begin lengthy repairs to roads and levees as the White House announced President Joe Biden planned to survey the damage. The nine consecutive rainstorms that inundated California in succession since Dec. 26 killed at least 20 people while tens of thousands remained under evacuation orders as of Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom said in an executive order that reinforced the state's response to storm damage.

"The last of the heavier rain in California is slowly fading. After midnight it shouldn't be heavy anymore," said meteorologist David Roth of the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center. Biden will travel to areas of the central coast on Thursday to meet first responders, visit affected towns, and "assess what additional federal support is needed," the White House said.

The president had already issued an emergency declaration on Jan. 8 to free up federal aid and then on Saturday authorized disaster assistance for Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz counties. While damaging, the storms also helped mitigate a historic drought, as much of the state has already received half or more its average annual rainfall.

But with more than two months to go in the rainy season, officials are urging Californians to continue conserving water. The U.S. Drought Monitor still shows almost the entire state under moderate or severe drought conditions. Reservoir levels were still below average for this time of year, officials said. Moreover, the atmospheric rivers largely failed to reach the Colorado River basin, a critical source of southern California's water.

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