Salinas-Monterey County elected officials plan to transition ‘county state’ in 2023, topping list is large-scale likely to exceed $120 million storm damage.

Friday’s Oversight Board workshop was the most comprehensive yet on the damage caused by atmospheric rivers and subsequent flooding and landslides that hit the Central Coast between December 26 and January 16. It has been dug up to provide general insight.

Emergency Services Agency interim manager Tracy Dolfino said the storm affected the entire Salinas, Carmel, Pajaro, Arroyo Seco and Big Sur river basins. Preliminary damage estimates now exceed $120 million. It will be some time before the flood waters, especially the Salinas River, are sufficiently stagnant to allow a more complete picture of the damage.

California requested a presidential emergency declaration on January 8 and was granted the next day. The counties of Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara were added to the federal disaster declaration on January 19, making them eligible for federal assistance.

Dolfino said the damage was extensive. The costs of emergency response, emergency repairs, and in some places catastrophic impacts on the $11.7 billion agricultural industry are tied to the damage suffered by cities and territories.

Randy Ishii, county’s director of public works, facilities and parks, outlined the number of road closures caused by floods and landslides. I was. Some closures have adversely affected trucks trying to bring winter produce to market. During the winter, much of the Salinas Valley business moved to Yuma, Arizona, reducing the impact on agriculture.

Debris flows from the burn scars left by the 2020 Salinas and Carmel fires were minimal, Ishii said. This is because it took him two years for the hillside to heal with new vegetation that provided some stability to the soil.

Other places were not so lucky. The Scenic Road along Carmel Point suffered what Ishii said was permanently damaged by violent wave action and currents. Sewerage was also affected. It is one of the locations in the county that, if possible, requires financial and other types of support from state and federal sources to rebuild. A place along the road at the end of the photo was taken.

Scenic roads in the affected areas will remain closed to all cars, bicycles and pedestrians, Ishii said.

Another place where state and federal resources will be needed is the bridge flooded by the flooding of the Salinas River in Gonzales. Photos showed a section of River Road along the bridge had collapsed and flooded. The river level has to drop further before the crew can go in to assess the damage.

A wastewater treatment plant in the community of Chural, a few miles north of Gonzales, was overwhelmed by floodwaters from the Salinas River. Like Gonzales’ bridge, the water level must be lowered for the crew to get an accurate picture of the damage. State and federal assistance will also be required at the site. Ishii urged residents of the affected areas to wait patiently as the crew, many of whom work around the clock, can assess and repair the damaged areas.

Lew Bauman, interim commissioner of the Monterey County Water Agency, said the Nasciamento and San Antonio Reservoirs in southern Monterey County were able to capture water coming from nearby basins without having to release it. In the points mentioned, the storm is unique. To the already flooded Salinas River.