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Where the last scenario saw a return of the
business cycle, but with a difference, “Silver Lining”
is about cycles in the weather, but again, with a difference. The
Sacramento Region suffers a 500-year storm, and is ill-prepared
for the flood. But the rebuilding effort reveals new strengths that
might not have been tapped without such a challenge.
"CALIFORNIA’S CENTRAL VALLEY REBUILT ITSELF AFTER THE
FLOOD."
The closing words echoed those that had opened
the film. When the applause erupted, the young filmmaker paused,
then stepped to the podium. He began to speak.
“They screened us in Berlin, Edinburgh...Toronto.
And they awarded us at Sundance.
“But, in this small vessel, do we communicate
what leadership emerged—not from out of the blue at a moment
of need-but from a foundation of community strength that was being
built long before the rains came? Can you tell just how far we have
come and what we have created together?
“Twenty years after the flood of 2005, the
Sacramento Region can celebrate its triumphs. Yet, although we can
tell our tale thus far, there are still obstacles ahead. We must
heed the warnings of our own Cassandra.”
The reference to Governor Cassandra Jennings was
well received by an audience aware of her presence and applause
filled Sacramento’s Memorial Auditorium. Upon seeing her smile
in response, the slightly nervous speaker became slightly less so.
He continued.
“You saw Governor Jennings twice in the film.
The first time was as a community leader—an early actor in
the relief and recovery efforts. Her words: ‘Let’s take
this hit as a blessing,’ were hard to hear at that time, but
in rebuilding from the soggy ruins, the residents of the Valley
came together to achieve a degree of multi-racial and multi-ethnic
solidarity they might never have known without the flood.
AND THE RAINS KEPT FALLING...
“The year 2004 had brought the first severe
symptoms of global weirding. Resulting from the buildup of greenhouse
gases, the new disorder made it hotter on some spots and colder
in others, delivering the Pineapple Express as one of many storm
systems that accompanied the changes. With twice the normal precipitation
for October, the Sierra slopes were covered with snow by Thanksgiving.
To hear those who skied or boarded early that season is to hear
tales from sailors who reached an uncharted land as part of a fortunate
crew. But by February the roads were impassable and down here, we
were drenched. By March 2005 all of the reservoirs in the Sierras
were beyond full before the spring thaw.
“Questioned at a press conference, the former
Governor reassured citizens that the dams would not fail. He had
it on personal authority from the Army Corps of Engineers that the
levees in Yuba and Sutter Counties were in good shape. This satisfied
many homeowners living in flood plains. The NBA and Sacramento’s
mayor saw no reason to cancel the game between the Kings and the
Lakers.
CHAOS
“The footage today is still a striking and
painful reminder of those we lost. The Oroville dam was the first
to fail. The Capitol and Natomas were soon flooded. The closures
of I-5 and I-80 trapped most of the residents in the counties around
Sacramento. The deaths on the highways alone were in the thousands
as drivers were trapped in their cars or swept away trying to escape.
And the rains kept falling.
“Of course, most of the levees were completely
inadequate to contain the flood waters. Over 3,000 head of cattle
drowned in Yuba County alone. Evacuees huddled in makeshift shelters
in the upper floors of buildings whose first floors were submerged.
“The Sutter Buttes rested like islands above
an inland sea. Power outages inhibited communication. Where were
the authorities? Where was FEMA? Pleasure boats pressed into service
as rescue vehicles traversed uncharted waters where fence posts
and abandoned farm equipment threatened propellers like coral shoals.
AFTER THE FLOOD
“California’s Central Valley rebuilt
itself after the flood.
“Rescue workers were greeted with Category
1 farming chemicals percolated into the rivers and flood plain and
as the flood waters subsided, countless carcasses of farm animals—and
humans.. Health officials warned of the dangers of cholera as images
of the aftermath were etched on our collective memory.
“Tales of heroism have been told: Of the
Punjabi-American Women’s Club members who opened shelters
for displaced families; of the Sacramento City Council member who
organized search and rescue efforts; of Roseville’s 115th
Unit California National Guardsmen who mobilized immediately and
worked around the clock; of Sutter County farm worker Eduardo Garcia
Nunés who organized volunteer crews to help with the clean
up.
“You have heard these stories but as you
saw in the film, we need to dig deeper to give context to the actions.
Perhaps an individual can summon the unbelievable strength to lift
a car in a moment of need. But can a community pull together, even
in a disaster if there is not a precedent, a method, an infrastructure
at the ready to support collective work?
“Each of the examples highlighted in the
film drew on our pre-flood history. In our hundreds, if not thousands
of hours of interviews, it was difficult if not impossible to get
participants to focus on the “before the flood.” But
we needed to analyze what was happening prior to understand what
created what we have today. In that light, the film is prompting
us to ask, if it happened again, do we have the infrastructure in
place that we need to effectively respond?
“Worse and more widespread than the disaster
on 9/11, the Sacramento Region flood elicited billions of dollars
from the federal government. Vice President Cheney pledged his “personal
attention.” State officials did their best to organize assistance
to shattered lives and businesses.
“But local responses were really the key
to grassroots rebuilding efforts.
“The Capital Unity Council, a multi-racial
and multi-cultural organization established in the 1990s, served
as a focal point for coordinating-but not autocratically running-the
rebuilding efforts. The Unity Council Foundation channeled federal
funds into billions of dollars of development grants. Many recipients
now owned their own businesses for the first time.
“Rather than leaving individual families
to go it alone, neighborhood coalitions rebuilt housing. 150,000
volunteers signed up for training in construction. While many signed
a petition to keep building altogether out of the flood plain, investigations
of warning memos prior to the Folsom Dam disaster led most residents
to believe that there had been failures in both engineering and
oversight, and that low-lying areas could be made safe for agriculture
and habitation if it were carefully planned.
“For the first time in history, the residents
of California’s Central Valley—including Sacramento—knew
themselves as occupants of a shared watershed. Concepts such as
urban and agricultural run-off that had seemed unrelated to our
lives were now a basis for decision-making. We all understood what
flowed into the water and where that water flowed.
The changes in land-use planning that followed
were truly sweeping in their breadth. Given the enormity of the
devastation and the universal recognition of the need to rebuild
wisely, grassroots efforts had to fit into a comprehensive plan
for the six-county area. No more patchwork planning. A model network
of transportation and roads. No more hopscotch development between
agricultural tracts.
“Prior to the flood, a demand for collaborative,
coordinated planning and action had begun to emerge both in editorials
and from Sacramento Area Council of Government’s Blueprint
project. But now that regional approach drove the 6-county agenda.
Counties and cities agreed to engage in joint planning for the rebuilding
effort. A vastly increased and reconstituted SACOG gained much new
authority to plan land use. Especially, since people faced the lessons
of disaster directly. Where industry, residential real estate and
agriculture had previously competed with one another acre by acre
up and down the valley before, it was now possible to relocate businesses
and residences from lowlands where they had no business building
in the first place. Now it was possible to set aside significant
acreage for recreation and tourism and to allocate even larger tracts
for productive agriculture.
“Agriculture remains the key industry. The
country and the world have to eat, and California’s Central
Valley boasts the best agricultural land in the world. We have seized
opportunities as they have arisen but now there was an opportunity
to plan industrial parks and residential developments in the foothills
lining the eastern and western edges of the valley. High-speed rail
criss-crossed the valley floor, and a light-rail system spread north
and south along the perimeter.
THE NEXT CRISIS
“Late in the film, we revisited Governor
Jennings, now speaking as Governor to Valley Vision’s 2024
State of the Region gathering. At the end of her long list of challenges
facing the region, she was less than optimistic. Despite the peace
and relative prosperity that we are enjoying, she asks ‘Will
it take another natural disaster to pull us together?’
“It is my intent that this film serve as
a reminder of how far we have come and how we got here, so that
we might, together, ask where are we going and how might we get
there."
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