President Joe Biden strolled along the ravaged boardwalk of a picturesque California beach town on Thursday, listening to business owners struggling to rebuild their shops after devastating storms left the region in ruins. The storms, which have claimed at least 21 lives, according to Governor Gavin Newsom, have left a trail of destruction across the state, with entire communities reeling.
As Biden walked through the gutted seafood restaurant, he was met with walls crumbling, debris scattered everywhere, and floors swept away by raging waters. The once-thriving Paradise Beach Grille, owned by Chuck Maier, was now a scene of utter devastation, with water gushing up from the floor and swamping the business on Monterey Bay.
“This has been a real wake-up call,” Maier told Biden, to which the President responded, “No kidding.” Later, during a press briefing at nearby Seacliff state park, Biden emphasized the severity of the damage, attributing it to climate change. “If anybody doubts the climate is changing, they must have been asleep for the last couple of years,” he said.
The President was flanked by Newsom, Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) administrator Deanne Criswell, and first responders as he surveyed the damage from the punishing rains, powerful winds, floods, and landslides. He warned that the climate crisis would continue to create extreme weather events. “We know some of the destruction is going to take years to rebuild, but we’ve got to not just rebuild, but rebuild better,” he said.
From December 26 to January 17, California was deluged by 11.47 inches of rain and snow on average across the state, with some areas receiving over 15 feet of snow in the highest elevations of the Sierra Nevada. The state’s vulnerability to such extreme weather events is exacerbated by its reliance on a phenomenon known as “atmospheric rivers,” long, narrow bands of water vapor that form over the ocean and flow through the sky.
California’s Desolate terrain Waits for Relief from the StormCalifornia has endured nine such atmospheric rivers since late December, with the storms relenting in recent days. Forecasters predict light rain later in the week, followed by a period of dry weather. Newsom described the situation as “challenging,” citing the 21 lives lost, including that of a five-year-old boy, and the cumulative stress of nine atmospheric rivers and 22 days of consecutive storms.
Criswell emphasized the importance of empathizing with those affected by the storms, saying, “These communities have had loss of life, loss of wellbeing, and loss of 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 behind them.”
Biden has already approved a major disaster declaration for the state, freeing additional federal resources for recovery efforts. Hours before his visit, he raised the level of federal assistance available even higher. Over 500 Fema and other federal personnel have been deployed to California to support emergency operations. Thousands of bystanders gathered to cheer on the President as he toured the boardwalk, a poignant reminder of the community’s resilience in the face of devastation. Newsom praised the swift federal response, but warned that the threat remains high in a state that has struggled with both devastating drought and record rainfall in recent years.