How bad was California’s ‘Great Flood’ of 1862? It was a torrent of horrors
The Great Flood of 1862, seemingly lost in time, is the answer to the question: What was the most destructive flood in California history? Even as flood waters rise throughout the state in January 2023 and President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency on Monday, the event has created only a fraction of the impact of the 19th century deluge. News reports from the time describe a surreal scene: Entire towns were destroyed, and farmland and plains turned into lakes as far as the eye could see. Almost everyone in the state was impacted by the flood, from victims who lost their homes to state employees who, in the chaos and confusion, didn’t get paid for more than a year. … San Francisco began flooding in December 1861, when steady rains drenched the city. The first week of January dumped 12 more inches of rain in S.F., and one local newspaper made Biblical comparisons.
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- The New Yorker: California’s Devastating Storms Are a Glimpse of the Future