Superstorm likely to hit California

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/161328.html


Federal officials say California has more to fear than earthquakes. Officials are warning that something called an Ark storm could be so overwhelming that much of the entire state would become flooded. This super storm would drown entire cities and turn valleys into rivers. Mark Jackson is the chief meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Los Angeles. Jackson says the Ark storm is plausible mainly because it's already happened before.

He says historical data shows a massive storm system hit the state in the mid-1800s.

Scientists say computer models based on previous weather data suggest California can be hit with a storm system so powerful that the state's levees and flood control systems would be overwhelmed. And the damage would be the far worse than what was caused by Hurricane Katrina.

California focuses much of it's preparedness efforts toward earthquakes, like the Great American Shakeout drill held each year. But Jackson says an Ark storm poses just as much of a threat, if not more.

Infact, scientists estimate that an Ark storm would cause roughly five times the amount of damage than any so-called “Big One” earthquake.

Scientists say there are two main reasons why this Ark storm report was released.

One, they want the government agencies to start working together now to prepare a worst-case scenario and two, they're hoping this information will lead to the creation of an Ark storm warning system similar to the scale of those used for hurricanes.