Daily Beast
The West’s Devastating Drought Captured in Aerial Photography
This year, the Southwest United States has been experiencing gripping heat and unprecedented drought, a cycle of misery more intense than anything recorded in the 20-year history of the U.S. Drought Monitor. And the dynamic is predicted to only worsen throughout the summer. California reservoirs are 50 percent lower than they usually are this time of year, according to the AP, and large swaths of the country are set up for an exceptionally dangerous wildfire season.
Here, photos show the early devastation from a bird’s eye view.
Houseboats whose owners chose to leave them in the lake, float at a water level nearly 200 feet below normal at the Lime Saddle Marina for Lake Oroville near Paradise, Calif., on Tuesday, June 8, 2021. San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty
Boat docks at the Browns Ravine Cove sit on dry earth at Folsom Lake on May 10, 2021 in El Dorado Hills, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty
Grounds marked with previous water levels at Oroville Lake in Oroville, California, U.S., on Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images”
This undated file photo shows the dam at Elephant Butte Lake in Elephant Butte, N.M. Many New Mexico communities are behind the curve when it comes to investing in drinking water infrastructure as persistent drought threatens supplies, and the state’s fragmented funding process makes it hard to know what taxpayers are getting for their money, legislative analysts said Wednesday, June 23, 2021. Roberto E. Rosales/The Albuquerque Journal via AP
Low water levels are visible at Lake Oroville on April 27, 2021 in Oroville, California. Justin Sullivan/Getty
The floodgates of the completely dry Berenda Reservoir in Chowchilla, California, U.S., on Monday, June 21, 2021. Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty
Author: John Hanno
Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Bogan High School. Worked in Alaska after the earthquake. Joined U.S. Army at 17. Sergeant, B Battery, 3rd Battalion, 84th Artillery, 7th Army. Member of 12 different unions, including 4 different locals of the I.B.E.W. Worked for fortune 50, 100 and 200 companies as an industrial electrician, electrical/electronic technician. View all posts by John Hanno