On March 9, 2023, Eddie Rocha of Watsonville was shocked to see flood waters creeping into his kitchen. His home quickly became soaked with flood waters leaving him no choice but evacuate.
“This is everything,” Simon Mata says, showing American Red Cross volunteer Barbara Wood the huge pile of muddy garbage in front of his home in Pajaro, where everything that had furnished his home awaits pickup.
by Pooja Klebig
From December 2022 through March 2023, devastating storms and flooding drenched California over several months, destroying homes and businesses. This intense precipitation—the result of atmospheric rivers—is extremely rare in California, so areas that normally wouldn’t flood, like the community of Pajaro in Monterey County, home to migrant farmworkers, and large portions of Tulare and Kern counties, were completely inundated. These damaging atmospheric rivers spurred landslides and tore apart homes, inflicting financial losses and destroying irreplaceable, precious memories. While the relentless rain affected much of the state, this disaster took a severe and disproportionate toll on the most vulnerable.
Across California, the American Red Cross offered people the reassurance that they would have a safe place to go when dangerous floodwaters threatened their well-being, homes and livelihoods. One of our most profound impacts during this response was a major and far-reaching shelter operation. We opened 82 shelters in January alone, then 32 more during the second round of flooding in March. Along with providing refuge, we served over 222,000 nourishing meals and snacks in our shelters and through community distribution, and gave out thousands of relief supplies to help people muck out their houses. Of course, we also offered a caring shoulder to lean on.
As the storms cleared, our Long-Term Recovery Team worked with partners like Hope Crisis Response Network to help people clean out and repair their flooded and mud-filled homes. Even two years later, our Red Cross teams continue to support families with their recovery journey, providing financial assistance, replacing essential belongs and helping to regain stability. Recovery from a disaster of this magnitude doesn’t happen overnight, and the Red Cross remains committed to stand with these communities for as long as it takes.
We are very grateful for our generous donors, compassionate community partners and dedicated volunteers for everything they have done to help us deliver relief and comfort throughout this months-long response. This vital work is only possible because of your support.
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