Additional reporting by Nate Stevens
“Brown is the new green.”At least that’s what Governor Jerry Brown used as his campaign slogan in 2014, referring to his new platform of anti-drought policies. But if any of Brown’s catchy campaign signs were still outside in recent days, they’d be melted into wet cardboard mush. Over the past four months, California has been receiving uncharacteristically high levels of rain, according to the San Jose Mercury News, adding 350 billion gallons to state reservoirs. The recent storms have pushed state officials to lift drought warnings in almost a quarter of Northern California, according to NBC Bay Area.
Unfortunately, the rain has caused damage to several Cupertino households, with flash flood warnings issued in several counties.
⚠️ Move to higher ground! Flash Flood Warning including Santa Clara County, CA until 7:30 PM PST#CAstorm #CAflood #CAwx pic.twitter.com/eo7pO8WclY
— NWS Bay Area (@NWSBayArea) 14″>January 9, 2017
On Monday, one anonymous sophomore awoke to a gaping hole in her ceiling; rain had seeped through her roof overnight, leaving a puddle in the middle of her garage.
“It was so bad that there was literally a hole in the ceiling,” said the anonymous sophomore.
Other students found the rainy season more of a nuisance.
“It’s annoying because I have to take my dogs inside,” sophomore Makayla Reid said.
Although the storms have wreaked havoc on local residencies, they still bring good news for California’s drought, breaking over three years of below average rainfall. However, Brown is still hesitant to lift the state’s official drought emergency declaration ordered in January 2014. Despite flooding in several parts of the state, much of Southern California still remains in drought, according to The Mercury News.
The U.S. Drought Monitor found almost 35 percent of California is no longer in drought, but senior Salil Uttarwar agreed with Brown’s resistance to call off the emergency.
“[The drought] is definitely not over,” Uttarwar said. “Just a little bit of rain won’t fix this problem which has been going on for so long.”
