Comparing California floods to California droughts

Written by Dakotta Hargrave

Edited by Sue Green 

Over the years there have been many droughts and floods in the state of California and the town we live in, Hidden Valley. Some have caused many terrible things to happen in our community. With summer on the way and us having flood warnings just last week now is a good time to realize the effects these drastic changes have on how our roads, buildings, dirt, crops, etc are affected and how it has affected us. 

Comparison of droughts and floods

Flooding and droughts are two big things in the community and the state and towns of California with us being near or on the coast. Droughts are when there is little to no moisture in the soil causing things like trees, crops, and other plants to dry out. Flooding is where there is too much moisture in the soil and with over moisture it causes the water to stay above ground and move to where it can be and fit best. 

The California droughts have always been bad with our worst one being a 5 year long drought. Spanning from 2012-2016 being our latest one that has been the worst and latest the longest. The California floods can get particularly bad in some cases, with the longest flood lasting 45 days marking back in December 1861-February 1862. Last week, we had some pretty big flood warnings and hard rain that caused some flooding and over-filling in creeks and rivers which could cause damage or places nearby. 

Effects on communities

Droughts dating back to 2000 has shown how stretched out the drought range is and how it'll mess with the soil.

Some of the effects droughts have on the community and town are inadequate water supply and threatening the health, safety, and welfare of communities. Droughts have decreased water quantity and quality, increased chances of illnesses and or diseases, and caused mental health outcomes with people's lives being changed. Droughts can and usually cause wildfires or fires because of the grass and trees being dried out which makes them more flammable. In a New York Times article, they commented on the California droughts:

“In recent years, it is the dry side of California that has captured headlines: dwindling reservoirs where boat ramps lead only to sand, almond orchards ripped up for lack of irrigation water, catastrophic wildfires that rage through desiccated forests and into towns.”

Flooding had risen dramatically in the years between 1980-2000 for California and gone down since then with damage still being down by the harsh weather 

Some of the effects that flooding has on the community and us is that it causes damage with leaking in buildings and then possibly causing problems with technology and electrical wise. Flooding in towns can cause money loss from missed work, loss of lives, property damage, and damage important places that sustain consumption or help with feeding people or animals. 

“There was so much water, in fact, that across the state it was spilling over the banks of rivers and bursting the walls of levees.”