Public response to the 1997 northern California floods.

Includes bibliographical references

Details the investigation of flooding that occurred in northern California in January of 1997. Much of the area, known as the Central Valley, is prone to flooding. It is a predominately low-lying area between the Sierra Mountain range and the coast. Unique aspects of this flood were the amount and duration of rainfall and the widespread failure of the levee system. What follows is the result of field interviews completed by California State University-Stanislaus Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice. Ther report details the event itself, the research methodology utilized, interview results from both emergency response agencies and citizen perspective. The report concludes with lessons learned from the event