Surging California rivers become a deadly threat, months after storms
The waters below No Hands Bridge’s concrete arches usually make for a picturesque and popular northern California swimming hole, appearing inviting enough for Victor Nguyen to jump in on a late April visit. But fast-moving currents were too much for the 22-year-old. He was among the victims of what authorities warn are heightened dangers on the state’s rivers this year. Waters are flowing off the Sierra Nevada at volumes rarely seen in decades as record-high mountain snowfall melts. Rivers up and down California’s Central Valley are coursing with such might, and at such frigid temperatures, that authorities warn few people could survive in them. At least eight people have disappeared in rapids this spring, the San Jose Mercury News reported.