Alexis Guilleux (US correspondent), edited by Gauthier Delomez
modified to
7:37 p.m., August 01, 2022
The United States is affected by deadly natural disasters. In California, two people died in wildfires, while in the state of Kentucky, floods killed 28 people, including several children. Europe 1 takes stock with its correspondent in “Europe Soir”.
Big forest fires, floods: the United States is paying its share of natural disasters these days. In California, two people died in what is described as the worst fire of the year, called “McKinney”, on the border with Oregon. The Europe 1 correspondent describes uncontrollable flames this weekend. In total, 20,000 hectares of forest went up in smoke in two days, and 3,000 inhabitants were evacuated.
A historic drought for several years
In this part of California, it was very hot last week with almost 40 degrees, and the American West has been experiencing a historic drought for several years. The authorities are now expressing their concern for the next few hours because dry thunderstorms are expected, that is to say with very little or no precipitation, but with lightning which could aggravate the situation.
Other smaller fires are also ravaging several regions of the United States: Montana, Idaho and Nebraska. In the state of California, the flames at the gates of Yosemite National Park are more than 70% contained.
Deadly floods in Kentucky
Further east, in the state of Kentucky, floods killed 28 people, including several children. Since Thursday, rescuers have been going door to door in this remote, rural area trying to find survivors after the worst flooding in the state’s history. The torrential rains washed away everything, cars, houses, and sometimes bridges.
Kentucky is used to summer thunderstorms, but according to scientists, there was a 0.1% chance of as much water falling on the region: more than 20 cm in just 12 hours in places. The fault lies in the very humid and increasingly hot air which rises from the Gulf of Mexico. The unstable atmosphere turned into an insane storm with amplified damage due to the hilly terrain and unsuitable infrastructure to deal with this violence of the elements.