President Joe Biden declares federal emergency for SLO County, 13 others due to storm
President Joe Biden declared a federal emergency late Monday evening for 14 more California counties — including San Luis Obispo County — after a storm ravaged the Central Coast, leaving one woman dead, thousands without power, roadways flooded and homes destroyed.
The federal declaration authorizes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide assistance to the county “to save lives and protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen the threat or avert the threat of a catastrophe,” Biden’s declaration said.
The emergency declaration frees up to $5 million in federal assistance to alleviate the storm’s impacts on California.
If more than $5 million is provided, the president must report to Congress.
San Luis Obispo County, Santa Barbara County and 12 other counties were included in Biden’s Monday evening declaration. That declaration amended a previous one issued on Sunday, which covered 17 California counties including Monterey County.
Biden’s amended emergency declaration came after urging from U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, and U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley.
The two Central Coast Congressmen wrote a letter to President Joe Biden on Monday evening, urging him to declare a state of emergency in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency for the entirety of California on Jan. 4.
On Sunday, Newsom requested the federal state of emergency for only the 17 counties included in Biden’s Sunday emergency declaration.
“Federal support is necessary to save lives, protect public health and safety, and defend property from damage in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties,” Carbajal and Panetta wrote in their letter to Biden on Monday.
Severe winter weather left much of San Luis Obispo County in near shambles on Tuesday — with flooded roadways and widespread power outages affecting every corner of the region.
Overnight thunderstorms and gusting winds caused more power outages in the region, with about 5,000 PG&E customers in the Cambria and San Simeon area losing power at about 3:30 a.m., according to the utility’s power outage map.
In total, about 140 outages were affecting nearly 10,000 customers on the Central Coast as of Tuesday, PG&E spokesperson Carina Corral said.
On Monday, a woman died after her vehicle was overtaken by floodwater near Avila Beach, the California Highway Patrol said.
A 5-year-old boy was still missing after he was swept away in floodwaters outside of San Miguel on Monday morning.
The child is a kindergarten student at Lillian Larsen Elementary School, and his mother teaches in the San Miguel Joint Union School District, the district confirmed Monday.
All public schools in San Luis Obispo County were closed on Tuesday because of the storm.
Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo also canceled classes on Monday and Tuesday due to flooding on campus, with agricultural facilities being forced to evacuate.
About 20 homes in Los Osos were severely damaged by floodwaters that swept through the neighborhood at Vista Court and Montana Way, San Luis Obispo County said via Twitter.
Evacuation orders were still in place Tuesday for areas of Paso Robles next to the Salinas River, areas south of the Arroyo Grande Creek levee and around the Meadow Creek lagoon near Grover Beach, according to the county.
The storm was expected to continue through Tuesday, with another few inches of rainfall in the forecast.
“I urge all Central Coast residents to continue to heed the warnings of our first responders and emergency response teams,” Carbajal said in a statement Tuesday. “The danger has not yet passed, hazards remain and vigilance is critical to keeping you and your family safe.”
This story was originally published January 10, 2023 at 10:22 AM.
