California's water supply vulnerable to quakes, floods

The California Department of Water Resources has just released a study that concludes there is a 40 percent chance that a major earthquake will flood 27 delta islands between now and 2030, costing billions in repairs and knocking out the water source for 25 million Californians for more than a year.

Without intervention, it is estimated that about 140 levees of California's could fail in the next century due to storms or rising seas. An earthquake of magnitude 6.7 or greater could result in fatalities, flooding of islands and costs of $15 billion. In California levees have failed about 160 times in the past 109 years. READ MORE

California Department of Water Resources: Delta Risk Management Strategy - Final Phase 1 Report

Army Corps cracks down on flunking levees

More than 100 levees in 16 states flunked maintenance inspections in the last two years and are so neglected that they could fail to stem a major flood, records from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers show. California was #2 on the list! READ MORE

National Committee on Levee Safety (NCLS) draft version of the Report to Congress on Recommendations for a National Levee Safety Program, DOWNLOAD

California Prepares for Potential Flooding

Due to the potential for flooding, mud flows and debris in and around recent wildfire fire burn areas, the Governor in California has directed his Office of Emergency Services (OES) to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and prepare to help local agencies if assistance from the state is needed for expected rains. READ MORE

OPINION
HAZUS.org has it doubts if CA OES, the CA Department of Water Resources and CA local agencies are making the best use of HAZUS-MH to assess flood mitigation strategies and to be prepared for response activities when flooding does occur.