VUSD Schools Are at a Significant Flood Risk; What Does It Mean?

California has been experiencing the effects of several atmospheric rivers over the last few months. The snowpack is significantly larger than usual, leaving schools in Tulare and surrounding counties at moderate-high flood risk.

By Ayla Ozturk

Due to uptake in winter storms, the Sierra Nevada mountains received much more snow than usual. This led to a larger snowpack.

Snowpack is snow on the ground in the mountains, such as the Sierra Nevadas, that stays until the arrival of warmer weather.

Melting snowpack is a vital water source for many areas, notably the drought-stricken Central Valley.

However, the large amount of snow this year poses a flood risk for schools in the area.

An article from EdSource was published on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. It included an interview with the Department of Water and several other experts on the matter.

Experts noted that the Central Valley will inevitably experience flooding sometime around Memorial Day (Monday, May 29) due to snowpack melt.

The article also states that 38 of 42 Visalia Unified School District [VUSD] schools are in high or moderate flooding danger. Redwood High School is listed as high-risk.

Joylyn Carranza-Cisneros ’25 is a sophomore at Redwood High School. “It’s a bit scary [knowing the risk],” she says.

Erik Kehrer is VUSD’s Cheif Operations Officer. He provided insight into the district’s response to the flood risk.

“While we don’t anticipate serious flooding, if [it] were to occur [at VUSD schools], you could see a loss of time and materials and damage to property, all of which not only affect student learning but also our staff and families,” he says.

In the case of school closure, Kehrer says that VUSD would evaluate different instructional delivery models to continue providing students with a “meaningful educational experience.”

Events such as flooding can bring difficulties to those they affect. “Any challenges would come from unforeseeable circumstances,” Kehrer says.

During the recent flood warnings, VUSD worked with the City of Visalia, the Visalia Police Department, the Sheriff’s Department, and other school districts to create an emergency response plan.

Kehrer says, “It was [those relationships] that allowed us to make smart and timely decisions for our students and provide constant and accurate information to families.”

In response to the risks that the upcoming snowpack melt brings, VUSD is continuing to develop and strengthen emergency protocols in the case of severe flooding.

“We are updating our emergency response plans based on what we learned from the recent
flood warnings and continuing to strengthen our relationships with city officials,” Kehrer says.

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