Landslides, flash floods and raging seas: is California ready for the ravages of El Niño?
California is bracing for a potentially historic El Niño season, which experts warn could bring simultaneous threats of landslides, flash floods, and rising sea levels. Recent high tides in coastal areas serve as an early warning for the state's infrastructure vulnerabilities.
Why it matters
As climate change intensifies weather patterns, coastal regions face increasing risks that challenge existing disaster preparedness and infrastructure resilience.
Waves driven by swells from Hurricane Polo, crash over rocks in front of homes in the Capistrano Beach community. Photograph: Allen J Schaben/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images Waves driven by swells from Hurricane Polo, crash over rocks in front of homes in the Capistrano Beach community. Photograph: Allen J Schaben/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images California Landslides, flash floods and raging seas: is California ready for the ravages of El Niño? A mix of natural disasters could all befall the state at once as it finds itself in the crosshairs of the climate phenomenon
Prefer the Guardian on Google O n a cloudless autumn afternoon, sunlight sparkled on the water that had quietly swallowed a busy intersection to the north of San Francisco, as the surrounding rush-hour traffic slowed to a painful crawl.
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