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What’s Worse Than a Flood? A Debris Flow

By Sarah Bardeen

Move over, floods—there’s a new natural disaster in town: debris flows. We know that debris flows can be even more destructive than floods, but what are they and why do they happen? We speak with expert Jimmy Guilinger to learn more.

Fact Sheet

Floods in California

By Jeffrey Mount, Gokce Sencan, Letitia Grenier

More than seven million Californians—one in five residents—live in areas at risk of flooding, and risks are growing. Improved land use planning, insurance, and innovative flood management can help.

blog post

Making Sense of the Floods in San Diego

By Sarah Bardeen

The sudden deluge in San Diego last week has left some of that city’s communities reeling. But what actually caused the epic flooding—and could it have been avoided? We ask the experts.

Fact Sheet

Immigrants in California

By Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Cesar Alesi Perez, Hans Johnson

California is home to more than 10 million immigrants—almost a quarter of the foreign-born population nationwide. Almost half of California’s immigrants are from Latin America, but a majority of recent arrivals come from Asia.

blog post

A Look Back at 2023’s Volatile Year in Water

By Letitia Grenier

Volatility was the name of the game in 2023, as drought-weary California suddenly found itself inundated by atmospheric rivers—and the changes kept coming. We look back on California’s weird (and sometimes wonderful) year in water.

Report

Priorities for California’s Water

By Jeffrey Mount, Letitia Grenier, Ellen Hanak, Caitlin Peterson ...

California has made great strides in preparing for a drier, hotter future, but it remains a challenge to harness the bounty of wet years while also reducing flood risk. How did California’s water sector manage the unusually wet 2023 water year—and what lessons can we glean for the future?

blog post

Seasonal Weather Predictions Are Elusive in California

By Sarah Bardeen

California urgently needs to improve its precipitation forecasting: this could help the state better manage its water supply and prepare for disasters, among other things. But that’s not as easy as it sounds, says Dr. Xianan Jiang, a UCLA researcher. We asked him to tell us more.

Explainer

Race and Diversity in the Golden State

By Hans Johnson, Eric McGhee, Carolyn Subramaniam, Vicki Hsieh

California is one of the most diverse states in the nation, but disparate outcomes persist across and within racial groups.

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