Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
f igu r e 35 . Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta levee break in June 2004, which l ooded a
12,000-acre island in the delta. (Photo courtesy of the California Department of Water
Resources.)
that of New Orleans, a large l ood in the Sacramento region could result in
tens of billions of dollars in damage and put thousands of lives at risk.
an atmospheric river “superstorm”
Recent research shows that atmospheric river storms have produced the larg-
est historical l oods along the Pacii c Coast states of California, Oregon, and
Washington. As the global climate warms over the next century, larger and
warmer atmospheric river storms (and extended storm seasons) are predicted.
From a l ood-risk perspective, this is bad news.
h e U.S. Geological Survey has published a new emergency-preparedness
scenario called “ARkStorm” (standing for Atmospheric River 1000 Storm).
h is scenario assesses the extent of damage that would result if a hypothetical
series of atmospheric river storms, analogous to those that struck in 1861-62,
slammed the West Coast today. h e ARkStorm scenario shows that l ood
control systems would be overwhelmed, and Sacramento, as well as the
expanding cities and populations in California's Central Valley, delta, and
