Many Californians fear the 'Big One,' but it might not be what you think.
It's not an earthquake. And it isn't the mega drought. It's actually the exact opposite.A new study by Science Advances shows climate change has already doubled the chances of a disastrous flood happening in California in the next four decades. And experts say it would be unlike anything anyone alive today has ever experienced.
California is prone to these floods from atmospheric rivers naturally, and major floods from them have happened before -- but climate change is upping the ante, and millions of people could be impacted. That would be more 5 times the cost of Hurricane Katrina, the current costliest disaster in US history.
It's happened before. It will happen again, but worse, warns scientists Over 150 years ago, a strong series of atmospheric rivers drenched the Golden State, causing one of the most exceptional floods in history following a dry spell that had left the West parched for decades.It was the winter of 1861-1862 and a historic megaflood transformed the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys into a"temporary but vast inland sea," according to the study.
Climate change increases the amount of rain the atmosphere can hold and causes more water in the air to fall as rain, which can lead to immediate flooding. Both are and will continue to occur in California.
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