 Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Cal OES. We're here to provide you a briefing on California's response to the ongoing storm efforts behind us. We have first responders from across the state. We're working throughout the night and into the next few days as we responded this disaster. To get us started today, we're going to have a weather briefing from Eric Shoning from the National Weather Service. Hello, everyone. Eric Shoning here with the National Weather Service. A strong storm system is moving into the state of California, starting tonight and continuing through Tuesday. This storm is going to bring widespread impacts to the state. It's going to start with the winds ramping up tonight. Overnight, we're going to see strong winds developing. Eventually those winds will reach gusts of 40 to 70 miles per hour in many parts of the state, which will bring damage to areas including tree damage. Of course, one of the biggest impacts with this storm is widespread moderate to heavy precipitation, especially across central and southern California. This will bring widespread impacts, including flooding on roadways, the potential for mud, land, and mud and landslides, as well as the potential for debris flows on recently burned areas. We also see significant transportation impacts due to heavy snow accumulating in the mountains. So this is a very big storm, very widespread impacts across much of the state that we're hoping the Californians will keep an eye on through the next couple of days. Thank you very much. With that, I will introduce California Department of Water Resources Director Carla Namath. Thank you, Mr. Shoning. My name is Carla Namath. I am the director of the California Department of Water Resources. We are also tracking the significant storm events. We are into atmospheric river number five. That will begin tonight and last through Tuesday. We are also forecasting a subsequent atmospheric river later in the week, possibly January 12th through 14th. So this continues to be a long duration event. We also have additional updates to our forecasting, revolving around geographic landfall of this particular atmospheric river event. A shift from the north bay area to a little bit further south in the southern bay area and moving easterly through the central valley. We have adjusted our flood stage projections down from an original 17 systems that we were watching very closely to 11. We are working very closely with local county offices of emergency services to make sure those communities are prepared in the event that we do experience flooding. If you are anywhere in California, we also urge you to stay connected to your local office of emergency services. They will advise you of evacuation warnings in your area if that pertains to you. Given the ability for these events to come in stronger than forecasted either in rainfall totals that can rise very very quickly. We need you to stay focused on these kinds of notifications and be prepared if you do get that notice to evacuate the area. Again, we are working under conditions of intense saturation such that even moderate levels of rainfall can produce significant flooding impacts and to talk a little bit more about the state's approach to impacts and support to our local communities. I'd like to introduce our Cal OES director Nancy Ward. Thank you secretary. As secretary Nemeth mentioned, we've got several storms behind us, but we have several storms ahead of us. Still a very very challenging situation to many many communities statewide in California. Currently right now we have 424,143 customers without power. We have approximately 2920 individuals in shelter evacuated with only 199 in shelter. But that is not really representative of the compounding effects that we're getting. So Cal OES has coordinated response resources prepositioned across the state to ensure that not only can we get to a vulnerable area quickly, but as the storms play out and as we saw even in last night's storm some changes to the predictions of rain and wind, we can move resources in as quickly as we can to impacted communities. And the resources are swift water rescue teams, OES fire engines, high water vehicles, CCC crews, sandbags, and as well as commodities from the federal emergency management area to shore up sheltering should communities find themselves in a larger evacuation than they may have anticipated, we can move those resources in as quickly as possible. I'd like to just talk about briefly about the differences of floods versus other types of natural disasters. Floods kill more individuals than any other natural disaster. We've already had more deaths in this floodstorm since December 31st than we had in the last two fire seasons of the highest fire acreage burned in California. It really is representative that our behavior is really representative of how we can keep ourselves safe. Water rises quickly, water cuts out evacuation routes, a car can float in 12 inches of water. So it's really, really extremely important that you stay vigilant, you listen to your county emergency alerts, that you heed the warnings of road closure signs that you don't walk drive in water that you can't judge the depth of and to stay vigilant with an emergency plan. Be ready should power outages which we know will happen in a significant way over these next several storms and possibly compound over the storms that are coming. So I just want to ensure that folks are are being vigilant about what they do and the decisions that they make and and if you are asked to evacuate, please please heed those instructions from your local emergency officials. And now I'd like to turn it over to Wade Crawford, Secretary of Natural Resources. Thanks so much Nancy. Clearly Californians are no stranger to these big winter storms coming off the Pacific. Although at the same time we know these storms are supercharged by climate change. And given this well-recognized threat California is quite organized to address the vulnerabilities that the threats that we're seeing now. I want to share a little bit about how our state agencies are working together to prepare for the coming storms, even amidst the storms we've already experienced. Our state federal joint flood operation center is fully operational on a 24-hour basis based here in Sacramento. That is where the flood experts in the state are located. Bringing in information on river levels every six hours 24 hours a day. Connected to our local flood authorities to understand what needs local communities may have to address. That flood operation center is working hand in glove with the state emergency operation center, which we where we are now. And the state operation center is of course deploying those resources those personnel to both prepare and preposition. As Nancy mentioned the equipment the personnel across the state and then to be able to respond very quickly. We also have additional departments that are figuring in all day every day over the last several days. That includes the California Conservation Corps. 1,300 core members strong 56 crews being deployed across the state for the flood fight. Our Cal Fire personnel and all local units are ready and able to respond to emergencies as they evolve and in fact Several are right now. Our state parks personnel same engaged on a regional local level addressing needs Even as 85 state parks are either fully or partially closed Now investments that our state leaders have made are coming to bear in real time here during the drought The governor the legislature invested hundreds of millions of dollars in so-called atmospheric river research to better understand this phenomenon of intense Storms coming off the pacific believe it or not. Thanks to this investment and a partnership with the federal government and the us air force There are There is a c 130 that has actually been flying off the coast into this atmospheric river to collect data in real time That's feeding into these evolving models to give us a better indication of how intense these storms will be and where they where they will hit Our state leaders have also invested over 700 million dollars since 2019 In flood infrastructure. That's things like strengthening levees Expanding weirs which is coming to bear and that state investment attracted over about 2.4 billion dollars of federal investment That has gone into strengthening our flood protection Infrastructure, but look, let's not let's not sugarcoat it while we are deploying some of the world's most advanced technology to predict The threats we now face mother nature is full of surprises So it's clear that we have to be ready So i'll i'll conclude with with four things that we can all do to keep ourselves our families our communities safe First stay safe stay dry and stay home if you don't have to be traveling during peak periods of the storm, please don't Be prepared for power outages and other interruptions have those flashlights the candles batteries charge cell phones at the ready Number three check on a vulnerable neighbor seniors the homebound We have to protect each other and keep each other safe during this this these intense storms and then lastly Follow emergency directives We have professionals that know these threats well We have public safety personnel that are working 24 hours a day to keep us safe And we help them by following those emergency directives So with that said I will turn it over to my colleague major general matthew beavers of the california national guard Thanks wade Wanted to give you a sense this afternoon of the scope and scale of the guard response so far Right now we have 28 high water vehicles arrayed across the state To help first responders both local state tribal county folks to ensure that they can navigate in waters that Potentially locals can't do in addition to that we have three rescue helicopters also currently deployed Two here and one in the bay area one up north so actually four We also have an mp company the 270th mp company On standby. We also have the 649th engineer company on standby to provide a menu of consequence management Capabilities in case those are needed again centrally located here so we can deploy them rapidly across the state And with that i'll be followed by kim johnson the director of social services Thank you general The california health and human services agency continues to mobilize across the state We've prioritized people who are unsheltered Those who are older are medically vulnerable People with disabilities as well as those residing in our congregate settings, whether they be medical or non-medical With the department of social services We are grateful for the partnership of local counties in the american red cross who are currently supporting 11 Shelters across california in six counties as well as additional non congregate sites in addition 14 additional shelters are pre-staged across nine counties that are ready to quickly stand up within two hours as needed Temporary shelter food and additional resources are available at these sites All are welcome no identification is required In addition many counties currently have warming centers open and available to support unsheltered persons and other populations that have been impacted You can check local county websites as well as www.cdss.ca.gov to find these locations In addition the department of social services and the department of public health continue to provide Up-to-date information and resources for the adult and senior care settings skilled nursing facilities And other operators of licensed programs These operators are required to have emergency plans in place to ensure the health and safety of residents in their care Any facilities who have been evacuated as a result of the weather and have a new temporary location Those sites are available at dss.ca.gov and also you can reach the statewide long-term care ombuds person Their crisis line is available 24 7 at 1 800 231 4024 In addition the emergency Medical services authority has pre-positioned assets and staged ambulance strike teams to be prepared The department of public health is proactively engaging with health care partners that are most likely to be impacted Our hospital partners continue to battle the effects of various respiratory viruses including covid as well And we thank them for all that they're doing It is not too late to prepare Visit our website at chhs.ca.gov and download your template to create your personal emergency plan This is especially important for those who have access or functional needs Again, each of us can do our part by checking in on our neighbors Connecting with the older people in your life and other support to persons who might need help And finally given all that's going on We recognize you may be overwhelmed And if you would like to just talk to someone to get some additional support and who someone who will listen with compassion Counselors are available right now at 1-833-317-HOPE or 1-833-317-4673 Also, you can visit the website calhope.org With that, i'm glad to turn it over to the calway california highway patrols acting commissioner chandry thank you director Now good afternoon first responders including chp officers have been deployed throughout the state and have been assisting people in response To the winter storms that we're experiencing Flooded roadways down trees and power lines are making travel particularly difficult If at all possible we're encouraged you in asking you to please postpone travel in those areas to allow Cleanup crews and power companies to do their jobs If you are out on the roads treat all downed power lines as if they're live Don't try to move them Don't try to drive over them and please just report their location Watch for falling and downed trees Trees are posing a significant threat in this storm due to the high winds and severely saturated soil The number one thing you can do to ensure your safety while driving During these storms is slow down Please do not ignore road closure signs or attempt to cross flooded roadways This is very dangerous and a risk that's simply not worth taking And i'm going to add my voice to the those that have been given today If you are asked to evacuate, please do so have a plan and be prepared chp officers along with other first responders have increased staffing for the storms And are ready to assist you if you need our help or if you have an emergency, please call or text 911 Thank you and stay safe And with that I will turn it over to the deputy director of caltrans mike heaver Thank you acting commissioner. So mike heaver caltrans Right now we have we're doing everything we can to keep the roadways open But safety is and will remain our number one priority We have over 4 000 of our maintenance crews that are out there doing everything they can whenever there's a break to Open the roadways back up. I do want to reiterate the message if there is a closure Please it may not be apparent to you where we place the closure what the hazard is But there is a hazard and we ask that you do not go around it. We will pick up the closure as soon as it is safe We're working with all of the entities here and with local officials to take the steps In the in the event of an evacuation, we have our traffic operations staff Ready with detours as needed Again, if you if you can avoid travel, we ask that you do that We have our cms message signs that are out there That will provide additional information as the situation Changes If you do want information, I want to encourage you to use the quick map app It provides push notifications gives you the latest information on the roadway closures and real-time information On when uh, they'll be reopened Again, if you can stay home, we encourage you to do so if you do see caltrans and other highway workers out there Please they're out there for your safety. Let's return the favor Let's make sure that they all return home as well and let's keep them safe. So please slow down Please move over Let's be safe and stay safe. Thank you Governor appreciate so, uh We've been at this how many days and uh expect To uh to see the worst of it still in front of us and I think that's the message we want to underscore today We're anticipating some very intense weather coming in tomorrow tomorrow evening in particular into the early hours of Tuesday morning and that's the imperative that we're trying to express Here is the seriousness Of purpose in terms of just being safe and being thoughtful use your common sense. You heard that From a number of the speakers here over the course last Few moments and that is uh, don't test test fate Um, you know, Nancy said it well. I mean just a foot of water and your your car is floating You know, half a foot of water. You're off your feet Uh, half a foot of water. You're losing control of your vehicle We're seeing people go around these detours because they don't see any obstacles. They think everything is fine Uh and putting their lives at risk or putting first responders Lives at risk and so it's really important that people are mindful and again Just use their common sense. I I know and listen to kim um I know what was going through my mind when she talked about people's minds Uh and the stress the stacking of stress That we've been through over the course of the last number of years and and here we go this weather whiplash From one extreme to the other. It's just a few months ago. We were talking about these heat domes Uh in extreme heat It was just literally a month ago down in southern california. They they took their drought declaration that impacted about six million people And extended it to 19 million people because of the severity of drought that was just 30 days ago And here we are 30 days later talking about number five on a way to number six, maybe seven Atmospheric river in just a matter of weeks Um Wait is right. We know a thing or two about atmospherics rivers rivers that that term was coined here Out of our universities here in the state of california Not only are we mindful of the frame and reference. We're very Experienced in understanding them In terms of the natural realities and the acuity and the intensity Of these atmospheric rivers, but I think part of that acuity intensity has led as Wade said to a deeper understanding and a sophistication in terms of our data our modeling and our forecasting these c 130's that are going in To these storms brought back information that we a year ago would never have had We wouldn't have been privy to even with all of the fancy satellite technology and all the federal Resources we wouldn't have had the resources that we've been Provided and provided ourselves through our appropriations Had we not invested in these technologies in these tools And developing a deeper consciousness because we are deeply mindful of living in This new normal of extremes. We talk about weather whiplash. We talk about extremes as it relates to mother nature People have referred to global warming now is is climate change to global weirding You know, just you know, hot. So I've said it a hundred times hot's getting a lot hotter Dry is getting a lot drier, but the wet's getting a lot wetter as well And as a consequence of this not only in terms of our deeper understanding and our consciousnesses Is it relates to our live realities, but also in terms of policy making We're moving dramatically in different directions. We put out 8.7 billion dollars In investments to address the issue of infrastructure related to droughts in that infrastructure plan It's not specific to droughts It's specific to conveyance. It's specific to strategies on stormwater capture and groundwater replenishment It's specific to strategies as it relates to dealing with these extremes and capturing More of the flood flow During times like this weighed reference 700 million. It's 738 million dollars that we've Invested in the last two years specifically in strategies in this space We are going to be requesting on tuesday with my budget that is already in print An additional 200 million dollars 202 million dollars to be exact of the legislature for more resources specific for levees and urban flood protection We have a flood plan in this state. We have a central valley flood plan people are very familiar with in this state We have a flood operation center in addition to this state operation center That we have stood up Because again, this is familiar territory for us in the state that said We are dealing With an acuity though with the stacking of atmospheric rivers that do put pressure And again require again deeper consciousness in this moment. We were just down Ourselves the team walking some of the sites with our conservation core team members that were out there filling up sandbags Protecting some of the levees near deer creek. We're down around the wilton area Consumers river seen a number of sites Anyone that's traveled around or just watched on television as news crews. Thanks for all your good work You've seen, you know these, you know trees that have collapsed and smashed cars Homes We're seeing a lot of what we would expect with these high wind events That said the winds were Unexpectedly higher than we thought last night and I just want to underscore when it comes to wind a little less precise Then precipitation in terms of our modeling and that's where tomorrow night in particular We have some additional concerns around the unexpected higher gusts in addition to the intensity of The actual precipitation and the flooding we expect because the storm is now moving south a little bit san josea area Particularly around commute time Could be particularly challenging obviously the medesta area and said and others Have been top of mind. We've listed as would noted by carla We had 17 high profile sites of creeks and rivers That we had identified quite literally putting dots That we've made public and working with local officials It's down to about 11 that doesn't it's not comforting and it's only 11 But it is encouraging it's down from that peak of 17 It doesn't mean things are getting better just things means things are shifting a little bit to the south and as a consequence We're dealing with different Challenges now perhaps we're more of an urban Challenge than some of the central valley and north Northern california challenges that we had originally modeled even 48 or 36 hours ago We've been in contact consistent with the white house With the chief of staff ron claim who's been nothing sort of spectacular and proactively reaching out We will be reaching out formally Within the next hour or so under the stafford act requesting of the white house approval Through fema region nine of an emergency declaration to get this full support of the federal government In our efforts, which we have all the confidence that we'll receive based upon the conversations with the white house So that formal request Is being advanced as I said within the next hour This is in addition to the emergency declaration that we passed statewide Last wednesday We are doing all we can to be as proactive as we can you heard about all the prepositioning of assets How cal guards doing Their best to preposition counties all across the state not just individuals but heart assets these 28 Vehicles that allow For supplemental support local emergency crews Obviously the mutual aid system second to none here in the state of california. We've got urban search and rescue Teams out in addition to the helicopters and the other resources That were advanced you heard cal trance cal trance got hundreds of crews up and down the state And we're working to make sure that we have the support to supplement With our local officials. We continue To around the clock be working closely with our local emergency offices as well as Local electeds to make sure that they have the resources they need I'm mindful as these storms go through particularly for locals that their work begins after those acute events and that's cleanup and that's Dealing with some of these high flows russian river area gernvill Very familiar with some of those challenges. So in the next few days Going through the extended week Going to be a challenging time for us here in the state of california But as always we are up for it. I'll just close with What dr. Ward said because it is I think important just in underscoring the why we're here And why we are trying to be sober About the next 24 to 48 hours With all the focus understandably on california wildfires It has been a very sad Truth in the last 10 days 12 people have lost their lives to these floods 12 people Again more than have lost their lives civilians that is To wildfires in the last two years These floods are deadly and have now turned to be more deadly Then even the wildfires here in the state of california common sense Just be cautious over the course of the next week again, particularly the next day or two So proud of the team proud of the good work couldn't be more satisfied and grateful By the federal response region nine the fema director herself Proactively engaged the white house the chief of staff level Every request we have made has been granted And again, I want to extend my thank you to the california legislature that over the course of the last few years It's not only put out record resources to focus on how we can modernize our conveyance and diversion And water system to meet these new realities But has also been incredibly supportive of our targeted master plan for water We went from 142 action items a few years ago to a 2040 water plan We put out in august of last year That numerically has targets In terms of storage for a million acre feet of storage that we put out They have helped fund that plan and advance that strategy in a meaningful way And I think that goes to a lot of questions that people have including those in my household With these storms. Does that mean the drought ends soon with these storms? How can we capture more of these floodwaters with these storms and a deeper understanding That we may not have the normalcy of these extended Years In terms of traditional rainfall and have more peak rainfall How are we modernizing our diversion and conveyance and infrastructure to meet that new reality that plan lays out in detail The funding from the legislature making that plan real a lot of work to do Mindful of that But there's a vision and there's a strategy and we recognize the urgency of the moment to implement And to make sure that we are prepared not just for this week in the storms Not just for the next year or two, but for the next decades to come As we tackle the most impactful force In our lives and that's mother nature with that we're happy to answer any questions When Constant never ending not just with the private ios like pgne, but smud smud in particular that's been challenged in the last 24 hours as you know, I think we were peak depends on how you analyze it five hundred forty thousand households and businesses five hundred 20 30 000 folks We still have work to do as director ward mentioned To get the power back on mindful again that it was the winds last night some predicted Some that were more Incute than had anticipated and that's our big concern going forward and that's why I appreciate What secretary crowfoot said in terms of just being prepared With your own flashlights own household Equipment as it relates to batteries and making sure that you're protecting yourself Particularly again during those peak hours of the storm coming in monday and tuesday monday evening into the late hours Uh and early into tuesday morning director Ward said last week that the current state of emergency that you declared allows out of state resources to come in and help Has any has the rent indeed so far yet to do that not at the level? That we can't anticipate but notably for pgna significant brought in out of state resources in as far as canada And they'll be rotating them in With the shift to more outages at smud they'll also be providing mutual aid to smud pgna well too So they'll rotate those as they needed In from other states as well For manpower equipment all the above Okay, and they were sitting there waiting at the oregon border for that signature They kept knocking on my door said get off the phone and And move them down but look the the resources Our capacity to surge is substantially greater than what we've currently Required and that's a big part of it under the stafford act of what we're requesting the president and the administration today and uh, you know without You know What we're asking for the feds is somewhat unique in this respect. It's more. I think analogous to what you would see with a hurricane There's anticipatory framework, and so we laid the the foundation of that in the conversations with the chief of staff that Because of the sophistication now in the modeling to deeper understanding these atmospheric rivers Our own research in addition to the federal research that's been done the collective wisdom is we know what's coming and anticipating that We're better off getting ahead of it as it relates to this request Then waiting for the actual event to occur and so again, it's just to nature of the times While this is a unique request in advance of In so many ways. It's a I think a Well a preview of things to come Mr. Governor and and mr. CHP acting director. Thank you both for taking the time quickly in terms of the message to california Is about those flooded roads? I'm gonna let the guys in uniforms talk about that. I'll listen to them more closely Can you just go the dangers and and and the message to california is about not going through those streets Yeah, absolutely, and we've seen it time and time and the you know over the past week But you know cars are going drivers are going around road closure signs and they're entering waters that they think they can traverse And like the director mentioned in 12 inches of water your vehicle will start to flow You add to that a little current and the vehicles quickly Swept off the roadway into deeper waters into ditches and canals and big in fields and and that's where you create something a really true life-threatening emergency and We've seen it time and time again here in sack county in south sack county There were several vehicles that were swept hundreds of feet from the roadway So Yeah, I think what what happens You're an expert, but you you see this just because someone else does it doesn't make it right I seem to say that to my kids almost an hourly basis And so you say well, there's a big rig and well that person's doing it. I'll just follow the big rig You saw that on 99 And so people just again be hyper vigilant and cautious and and without belaboring the again and again Um Commute tomorrow In some of our urban areas particularly in the bay area and the san jose area Is projected to be particularly challenging and so I think what you just heard is is incredibly important And we'll be talking a lot more about that tomorrow morning And we've been crystal clear with our local emergency officers Uh of the importance of doing that as well at the local life basis in terms of their messaging Else With that just want to again thank everybody team's been up and we I think I've been with you last four in the last five days upstairs and You know, it's a familiar place for all of us, but uh, you know, this is I think, you know a preview This is what they all projected. This is what those climate scientists All we're telling us about and it's all coming Um to a you know Reality here in the state of california, but we're up for it and I couldn't be more pleased and proud of my team and Again, I'll just close by saying Because it's important and it's also a preview of the budget we'll be submitting on tuesday how Wonderful it is to have partnership with our legislature in terms of their recognition Of these challenges and the resources They have provided the state of california That we are currently utilizing and we'll be investing over the course of the next few years. Thank you all very much