A new study by Cal State Fullerton researchers shows evidence of two epic floods that occurred within the past 500 years in Southern California during the Little Ice Age. Their research is the first-ever, land-based, flood-event evidence from 1450 to 1850 — a documented period of above-average wetness in Southern California, said Matthew E. Kirby, professor of geological sciences. According to scientists, floods — not earthquakes — represent California’s single most significant socioeconomic natural hazard risk. … Climate models predict that the frequency of large flood-producing precipitation events will increase in the 21st century due to climate change.