Following catastrophic winter storms, President Joe Biden visits California
President Joe Biden arrived in storm-torn California on Thursday to assess the catastrophic damage caused by relentless winter weather that has pounded the state over the past three weeks.
Air Force One touched down at the Bay Area’s Moffett Federal Airfield shortly before noon. The president was greeted by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sen. Alex Padilla and U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto.
Minutes after touching down, Biden boarded a Marine One helicopter with Newsom, Padilla and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell for an aerial tour of the damage before landing at the Watsonville Airport on the Central Coast.
In the afternoon, Biden is scheduled to meet with business owners and residents in the coastal town of Capitola and survey recovery efforts with first responders and local officials in Santa Cruz County.
Biden’s visit follows an easing of the winter storms. But destruction left by the extreme weather that began in late December will take months to clear. Widespread power outages, flooding, mudslides and toppled trees have not only damaged and destroyed homes, businesses and vehicles, but they’ve also caused at least 20 deaths. Some localities estimate the storms have caused hundreds of millions of dollars of damage.
In Capitola, for instance, powerful ocean swells and fierce onshore winds destroyed a historic wharf and flooded dozens of beachfront homes and businesses.
Following requests from the governor, Biden on Sunday declared a major disaster for Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz counties. On Wednesday, the counties of Monterey, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara were added to the declaration.
The presidential action allows residents in those counties to apply for federal disaster assistance funds. It also provides additional money and resources to help state and local officials with emergency response, recovery costs and hazard mitigation.
In a statement Wednesday, Newsom said he was “deeply thankful for the incredible support of our federal partners throughout this emergency as we’ve worked around the clock to save lives and help Californians whose lives have been turned upside down by these storms.”
Biden on Jan. 9 also issued an emergency declaration for 17 counties in California due to the storms. Newsom also has pledged to set aside $202 million in state funds for flood safety investments in his budget proposal for the 2023-24 fiscal year. The federal government has deployed more than 500 FEMA and other personnel to support response and recovery operations.
California’s Republican leaders have condemned Democrats for failing to capture more of the rainfall that inundated the Golden State in recent weeks. During a press conference last week, Republicans in the state Assembly urged Newsom to expedite pending water storage projects.
“California farmers’ fields have gone fallow while California residents have been told to ration water use because Democrats refuse to prioritize water storage. Now despite historic rainfall, we’re forced to watch precious gallons of water wash out to the ocean,” said Jessica Millan Patterson, California GOP chairwoman, in a statement Thursday.
“While President Biden and Governor Newsom are together today, they should explain to Californians why they insist on wasting a resource that’s so desperately needed across the state.”
This story was originally published January 19, 2023 at 5:00 AM.