President Joe Biden and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell traveled California’s Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties Thursday to tour flooding damage after weeks of rain that has ravaged the state since before the new year.
The president, accompanied by Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell, Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state and local officials, is visiting the storm-damaged Capitola Pier in Santa Cruz County, where he is meeting with business owners and affected residents.
Biden will also meet with first responders and deliver remarks on supporting the state’s recovery at nearby Seacliff State Park. More than 500 FEMA and other federal personnel have been deployed to California to support the emergency response operations.
Criswell said Thursday on the trip from Washington to California that the president and staff have to be mindful of what people have been through when traveling to places devastated by storms and other natural disasters.
“There has just been so much trauma to this community and it’s really important that we keep that in mind. … These communities have had loss of life, loss of their well-being and their livelihood, and I think it’s incredibly important that they know that the president is here to support them and that the full force of the federal family is going to be behind them.”
The visit comes just days after President Biden approved a disaster declaration to provide federal assistance to the state, which includes support for debris removal and emergency protective measures. It also allows residents in impacted counties who had damage or losses from the storms eligible to apply for federal disaster assistance.
FEMA, according to the Biden administration, already has over 500 people on the ground to help with relief efforts.
“We have been in constant communication with the state officials as we were watching this start to form,” FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell told Spectrum News in an interview last week, calling it “a very dynamic situation” on the ground.
The White House says the president will meet with first responders, state and local officials, and communities impacted by the devastation during the trip. He will be joined by California Governor Gavin Newsom, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., among others, during his tour of the damage.
Panetta has been a leading voice over the last several weeks in urging the federal government to provide relief to those suffering through the fallout from these winter storms.
“We were reaching out to basically all levels of government, county level, city level, state level, and letting them know the coordination that needs to be done in order to get the power of the purse from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Administration here on the ground,” Panetta explained in an interview with Spectrum News Wednesday. “Fortunately, because of our experience dealing with these extreme weather events, we understood what we had to do.”
Panetta, whose district includes Monterey, San Benito, and parts of Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties, said it’s important for Biden and other federal officials to witness the damage first hand.
“Obviously, the pictures are powerful,” said Panetta. “But nothing beats actually getting on the ground and feeling and experiencing the magnitude of this devastation, be it there in Capitola, be it up on Highway 9 and seeing the massive mudslide. And also hearing from the people on the ground as to the effects of this devastation, the effects of having to endure this type of extreme weather event.”
Panetta said that this resembles other storms that wreaked havoc on the communities in his district in the past, from 1987 to 1996, and even more recent flooding events.
“We had another extreme weather event in 2017, the same houses that I visited just the other day I visited in 2017,” recalled Panetta. “The overflowing Carmel River was literally in their living rooms.”
The rain and onslaught of problems it has brought with it has only been exacerbated by the drought California has experienced in recent years. Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Calif., told Spectrum News last week that California “doesn’t have a water problem, we get plenty of water, we just don’t store it when we get it.
“And now’s an example of when we’re getting it,” Garcia noted. “And we’re not gonna be able to keep it in store long enough to prevent a drought.”
It’s something that Panetta said he agrees with.
“We need to ensure that we have more sources of water. I see it firsthand here on the Central Coast, in which basically, we don’t import our water, we stick a grant, we stick a straw in the ground, and we suck it out, or we save it in our reservoirs,” Panetta said. “And let me tell you, before these last rains, those reservoirs were not looking good.”
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who represents parts of Santa Clara, called the flooding “devastating.”
“My heart breaks for the families of those who have been killed or are separated from their loved ones,” Khanna said in a statement to Spectrum News ahead of the president’s visit.
“In my district, fortunately, we haven’t experienced the most severe damage, but when I was there recently, the roads were covered in water and driving conditions were unsafe,” he said. “I’m deeply grateful for our first responders who have worked tirelessly to protect Californians. I appreciate President Biden and Governor Newsom’s swift response.”
While Biden’s visit Thursday will provide hope in a very dark moment for these communities, Panetta is already eyeing further down the road.
“We need to start thinking of thinking ahead, not just how we deal with these storms, but what we do to prevent the damage with subsequent storms,” Panetta said. “I’m glad the federal government is playing its role not just to help people repair and recover. But to actually think about solutions for the long term in dealing with these extreme weather events.”
