Archive · 22 Sep 2026
California Declares Emergency as El Niño Threatens Historic Storms
California’s governor has declared an emergency because strong storms may be coming.
The storms are connected to El Niño, a warming pattern in part of the Pacific Ocean.
Forecasters say this El Niño could become the strongest ever recorded.
State officials are preparing before the worst weather arrives.
They are speeding up flood-protection projects and other safety work.
Officials are also preparing public messages in several languages.
These messages will explain flooding, evacuations, power outages, and emergency alerts.
Some California counties have already experienced storm damage and declared local emergencies.
Governor Gavin Newsom declared a statewide emergency as El Niño-fueled storms approach California.
Newsom’s office said El Niño is already breaking records and could become the strongest on record.
State agencies are fast-tracking flood protection and other preparedness work ahead of the storms.
Authorities are expanding multilingual communications about flooding, evacuations, alerts, outages, and severe weather.
Storms have already damaged homes, eroded coastline, and prompted emergency declarations in several counties.
- Who
- California Governor Gavin Newsom, state agencies, local authorities, and emergency responders.
- What
- A statewide emergency was declared in preparation for potentially historic El Niño-fueled storms.
- When
- The declaration was announced Monday, as storms approached California.
- Where
- California, including southern coastal areas and affected counties such as Santa Barbara and Orange County.
- Why
- Officials want to protect people, infrastructure, and natural resources and improve preparedness before severe storms arrive.
- Governor
- Gavin Newsom
- Emergency status
- Statewide emergency declared in California
- Weather phenomenon
- El Niño
- Forecast
- El Niño could become the strongest in recorded history
- Preparedness measures
- Flood protection, emergency communications, evacuation readiness, and power-outage planning
- Reported damage
- Homes in southern Orange County and Malinu were damaged by flooding, while coastline from Carlsbad to Long Beach eroded
- Local actions
- Several counties have declared local emergencies