Winter storms break levees, prompt declarations of emergency | 01.07.2008 | 08:41:13 | Views: 4583 | ID: January 7 '08: The recent severe winter storms which hit the West Coast and Pacific Northwest with heavy rains, hurricane-force winds and feet of snow caused state officials in California to declare a state of emergency while in Nevada, heavy rains caused levees to break, the Associated Press reported. At least three people were killed as a result of the storm system which dumped more than five feet of snow in parts of the Sierra Nevada. States of emergency were called in California, Oregon and Nevada, the AP reported. All states made their decisions based on rain, high winds or snow. As late as the Sunday, the New York Times had reported that about 220,000 homes were without power in Northern California. Meanwhile residents of Southern California were warned of possible mudslides from the denuded landscape scarred by last year's devastating wildfires. According to the AP, "A ruptured levee on a rain-swollen canal spilled a frigid 'wall of water' into the desert town of Fernley on Saturday, flooding hundreds of homes and forcing the rescue of dozens of people by helicopter and boat." About 1,500 residents had been displaced by the flooding, while about 3,500 had been temporarily stranded due to the levee break.
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