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BIZARRE: Pajaro - You Need To See This

Five major floods followed Pajaro's 1949 levee construction; a 2023 breach sent water through homes within 3 hours and costing $300 million; UC Berkeley researchers are now recreating the watershed digitally to show how new barriers could change the next flood

Flood risk is hard to picture until water is inside your home. UC Berkeley researchers are building a digital twin of California’s Lower Pajaro River Valley to change that. The virtual model can show how floodwater may move through communities, what levee upgrades could change, and where climate change may…

The Economic Times

In the wake of winter storm damage, Pajaro River flood-control efforts slide

Just months after a levee failure inundated the small farmworker community of Pajaro, Calif., and sent thousands fleeing, cracks have already begun forming in the regional agency tasked with maintaining flood infrastructure.

Los Angeles Times

‘We all want to be home’: California town faces slow recovery after historic flood

The low-income community of Pajaro was devastated by floodwaters last month, but help with cleanup is hard to find

The Guardian - US

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Flooded California farm town pleaded for weeks for federal aid. It's finally on the way

LOS ANGELES — Significant federal relief is finally on the way for displaced and devastated Pajaro residents, officials said, following weeks of pleas from locals and leaders of the unincorporated Monterey County community since the region was inundated during strong winter storms that slammed California.

Los Angeles Times

Amid a disastrous flood, interpreters are a lifeline for Indigenous farmworkers

WATSONVILLE, Calif. — Inside an evacuation center at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, Maria Adolfo-Morales and a disaster service volunteer listened to a woman describe her concerns in the Mixteco language.

Los Angeles Times

California lawmakers tell Army Corps of Engineers to speed up Pajaro levee repairs

LOS ANGELES — It took a major disaster and the prolonged displacement of hundreds of farmworkers, but the small Monterey County community of Pajaro is finally getting the help and attention of federal, state and local lawmakers its residents have sought for decades.

Los Angeles Times

They grow America’s strawberries. A vicious flood made them climate migrants

California immigrant farm workers bore the brunt of this winter’s extreme weather – yet have scant resources to put their lives back together

The Guardian - US

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In Pajaro, children and teens grapple with displacement after flooding

WATSONVILLE, Calif. — The school buses arrived in quick succession, looping past the entrance of the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds and a parking lot packed with cars before stopping near Harvest Building, a low-slung yellow structure usually used for fundraisers.

Los Angeles Times

'They let us down': California flooding victims demand answers as town hall devolves into shouting match

WATSONVILLE, Calif. — Nearly two weeks after a levee failure forced hundreds of families in the small Monterey County community of Pajaro to leave their homes in the middle of the night, both county officials and residents are demanding answers for why federal assistance promised by the governor has yet…

Tribune News Service

How a long history of racism and neglect set the stage for Pajaro flooding

PAJARO, Calif. — Maria Martinez felt nauseated as she and her son crossed the Pajaro River Bridge into Watsonville, in Santa Cruz County.

Los Angeles Times

Commentary: What happened in Pajaro isn’t just a ‘natural’ disaster

In the last few years, California has experienced extreme wildfires, heat waves and the ever-present COVID-19 pandemic. What has become abundantly clear, particularly from the ravages of the pandemic on low-income communities of color, is that disaster risk is not an equal-opportunity affair.

Los Angeles Times

Who deserves a levee? The fight to save California communities from flooding

The tiny town of Hamilton City sits in the direct path of the mighty Sacramento River, muddy and swollen by this week’s storms.

Tribune News Service

Golden State Goes Gray: Californians Battle Floods As Record-Setting Rainfall Showers L.A.

This week, California was inundated by yet another wave of storms that brought the state record-breaking rainfall.

Zenger

First Thing: Autopsy of ‘Cop City’ activist shot by police still incomplete

Manuel Paez Terán’s family say other state agencies have also failed to release information about activist’s death. Plus, how the first Twitter-fuelled bank run played out

The Guardian - UK

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The Guardian - US

California town races for survival after levees fail: ‘It destroyed everything’

The town of Pajaro was flooded by the nearby river after repeated deluges, forcing residents to shelter at a fairground

Los Angeles Times

California deals with surging rivers, sliding rocks, flooded towns as storm passes

PAJARO, Calif. — Surging rivers. Sliding rocks. Flooded towns.

Los Angeles Times

Volunteers step up in flooded Pajaro, where many lack food, clothing — and work

PAJARO, Calif. — Jessica Sanchez felt awful about the catastrophic flooding that displaced hundreds of people in this Monterey County farm town.

Tribune News Service

Mexican pop stars join forces in support of California relief efforts

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Mexican pop music megastars Mana and Alejandro Fernandez — two acts whose combined worldwide album sales clock in at well over 50 million — are joining forces with promoter Live Nation to aid Pajaro Valley flood victims.

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Los Angeles Times

Residents left in flooded California farm town of Pajaro feel ‘abandoned’ as levees fail

PAJARO, Calif. — Dora Alvarez stood on the balcony of her two-story apartment building Tuesday, holding a garden hose next to a rain gutter and steering the water toward recycling bins below for her family to use after boiling it.

Los Angeles Times

Flooding, power outages hit California amid another atmospheric river storm, 11th this season

PAJARO, Calif. — California’s 11th atmospheric river storm of the season barreled through a beleaguered state Tuesday, dropping more rain and snow and sending thousands of residents once again scrambling for higher ground.

Los Angeles Times

Flood fears across California as another atmospheric river storm hits, 11th this season

Los Angeles Times

Age, drought, rodents and neglect weaken California levees, heightening flood danger

LOS ANGELES — The levee breach that left an entire California town underwater this weekend is putting a spotlight on how the state’s vital flood control infrastructure is being weakened by age, drought, climate change, rodents and neglect — leaving scores of communities at risk.

Los Angeles Times

Before disastrous flood, officials knew Pajaro River levee could fail but took no action

WATSONVILLE, Calif. — Officials have known for decades that the Pajaro River levee that failed this weekend — flooding an entire migrant town and trapping scores of residents — was vulnerable but never prioritized repairs in part because they believed it did not make financial sense to protect the low-income…

Tribune News Service

Worry builds near Pajaro River in California as Highway 1 closed, another storm approaches

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Patricia Equihua couldn’t help but think of the strawberry fields Sunday. A 19-year resident of Pajaro, Equihua, a strawberry picker, was among the thousands wondering what to do after a levee along the Pajaro River breached and caused massive flooding to the unincorporated Monterey County town.

WEKU

A waterlogged California is bracing for yet another atmospheric river

Another atmospheric river set to arrive Monday could worsen already severe flooding, as the extra rain and snowmelt threaten to overflow rivers and streams at lower elevations.

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