Disasters: An Avalanche of Rain

From the tropical seas came a wild and brutal storm -or rather a series of storms following vengefully one upon the other -to rain destruction and tragedy upon a vast area encompassing most of Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Nevada.

It brought back tragic memories of the region's worst previous disaster of that kind, the great flood of December 1955, which cost the lives of 74 people and caused millions of dollars in dam age. In both cases moist tropical air, swept by jet streams from Hawaii, collided over the West Coast with cool air, resulting in avalanches of rain.

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