a historic snowstorm hits California

It had been 48 hours since a resident of Truckee, California (United States), had not left his home. His house is surrounded by incredible walls of snow up to six meters high, in unstable balance. Although it is a mountainous region, it has been 40 years since these Californian villages had seen such phenomena. “We have nowhere to go, the snow is coming over my shoulders all around the house”he says.

600 kilos of snow per square meter

In the snow, people even write “Help us”. While waiting for help, one of the emergencies for the inhabitants is to clear the roofs. It takes about 600 kilos of snow per square meter, too heavy for many structures. In the night, the structure of the local supermarket did not resist and collapsed, fortunately there were no more customers inside. Food distributions are set up and families are gradually released, some have spent three days locked up. It has never snowed with such intensity in California. Many scientists attribute the phenomenon to climate change.