By Emely Bonilla, April 25, 2023
A tornado occurred in Montebello, California March 23, damaging buildings and leaving the community and media confused by this event. Though tornadoes in California are not unheard of, they are extremely rare weather events leaving California residents wondering what can happen in the future. As our climate conditions continue to change our day-to-day weather will be impacted and can cause unsafe living conditions. According to the Golden Gate Weather Services, between 1950 and 2022 there have been 468 tornados in California and approximately 85% of them were ranked one or lower on the Enhanced Fujita Scale — meaning they caused little to no damage. The tornado that took place in Montebello was also ranked at EF1, a lower ranking, but still damaged roughly 17 buildings.
Geographically, Southern California is susceptible to many natural disasters such as earthquakes, flooding and wildfires, but due to the current climate crisis, the outcomes may become much larger.
Cal Poly Pomona geology professor, Jeff Marshall, shared how earthquakes currently pose the biggest threat to California citizens because the state is located between two major tectonic plates and has many fault lines.
“Los Angeles sits on a very complicated place called the big bend, where the San Andreas fault takes a bend to the left creating a collision between the North American plate and the Pacific plate,” said Marshall. “There is a significant chance of damaging earthquakes at any time in Southern California.” A study published by IOP Science revealed the atmospheric changes have caused glaciers to melt globally. This increase in water has the potential to relieve pressure in the earth’s crust allowing the plates below the surface to move more freely, inducing earthquakes.
Though earthquakes are not a natural phenomenon seen impacting our day to day lives, throughout this past winter, California was hit with several atmospheric rivers which caused weeks of rainfall, floods and landslides all throughout the state.
Environmental changes can cause difficulties to our usual routines and create unsafe living conditions. According to Caltrans, there has been nearly $1 billion in damages over the past four months due to these storms.
Javier Valenzuela, a kinesiology student, shared how driving in the rain has become scary and makes him feel unsafe.
“I’ve noticed many more potholes pop up around West Covina, even on freeways too,” said Valenzula. “I get worried about my tires and my car because some of these holes are very deep and have sharp edges. Driving like that has really made me aware of our state’s infrastructure and where our tax dollars are going to.”
The immense amount of rain not only causes potholes but has the potential to go into the surface below the roads and cause landslides as well. According to the U.S. Department of Conversation during the months of December to March, there were hundreds of shallow landslides reported throughout the state.
This increase in rain in a state that has faced years of drought is a concept not many people would consider a concern, but the rain’s impact on the roads and safety is something that should be noted.
Dragos Andrei, civil engineering professor, reveals how civil engineers from the past several decades have been utilizing methods that did not face the extreme circumstances the environment presents now.
“Caltrans, agencies and cities will use designs and those designs are based on 100 years of past experiences; those past 100 years of climate,” said Andrei. “(The designs) are not made for events so extreme, even a well-designed roadway with very good drainage is not going to survive an extreme event … nothing is designed to handle that.”
Inconsistent climate conditions and extreme weather patterns is a more developing concern civil engineers will have to confront in the future. In November of 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a bill hoping to target unsafe roads and structures and replace them with climate resistant, sustainable alternatives, was passed in hopes of assisting with this issue.
Feature image by Emely Bonilla
