Medical Support Continues as Torrential Rainfall Inundates California

Rainfall at Direct Relief's headquarters in Santa Barbara County on Jan. 9, 2023. The organization has shipped more than $500,000 worth of medical aid to health facilities across California since Jan. 1. Many of those communities have been weathering the storm's impacts. (Tony Morain/Direct Relief)

By Lara Cooper

January 9, 2023

An emergency declaration was issued by President Joe Biden on Monday in response to the extreme weather in California, which has left 90 percent of state residents in flood watch areas.

In the last ten days, 12 people have died in California storms and flooding — more than the number of civilians who died in wildfires in the last two years, according to CalMatters. More than 138,000 people were without power in California on Monday, and outages are likely to continue as rainfall is expected through Tuesday.

At a mid-day press conference in Santa Barbara County, Eric Boldt of the National Weather Service in Oxnard said that significant rainfalls would continue into Tuesday. “We’re looking at rainfall totals approaching a foot of rain” in the county’s foothill and mountain areas, he said. Multiple roads and highways had been closed in the county, trees and powerlines were down in certain areas, and one active rescue had taken place, said Mark Hartwig, Santa Barbara County’s Fire Chief.

More than 200 first responders have been pre-positioned across the county. Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown called the storm a “very rapidly changing event,” and urged people to shelter in place during the flash flood watch Monday until they could safely evacuate burn scar-adjacent areas.

Direct Relief’s Response

Located in Santa Barbara, California, for almost 75 years, Direct Relief has been operating at a high activity level since storms began moving through the state several weeks ago. Since Jan. 1, 2023, 80 shipments of medical aid, worth $579,000, have departed to health facilities across California, including to Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Humboldt and more.

Items shipped included personal care packs with hygiene items for people who have been displaced from their homes, medicines for chronic conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure, field medic packs for health care in shelter settings, and other medical essentials specifically requested by health providers. More shipments are departing today.

Personal care items for Alameda County Health Care for the Homeless are packed and shipped from Direct Relief’s warehouse on Jan. 5, 2023. Requests from across the state were being filled after serious storms caused flooding and power outages across the state. (Lara Cooper/Direct Relief)

Among the shipments were 400 personal care kits to Alameda County Health Care for the Homeless. The organization’s grants manager David Modersbach told Direct Relief that the organization is particularly concerned with getting vulnerable people living outside into shelters. Shipments have also departed for the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics and Santa Barbara County Department of Public Health.

In Santa Barbara County, where Direct Relief headquarters are located, countywide flash flood warnings were issued, particularly concerning for those living near burn scar areas, including the Thomas Fire. That fire denuded the watershed behind the community of Montecito exactly five years ago, and a resulting debris flow killed 23 people and damaged more than 500 structures.

Direct Relief responded to both disasters, and funded recovery efforts, including search and rescue vehicles and gear for first responders, PPE distribution for those involved in clean-up, and emergency grants for community organizations providing critical services to residents. A victim’s fund was also established for those impacted by the loss of life, who were injured, or otherwise affected by the mudslide.

Direct Relief will respond to medical needs as they become known.