The California drought has been brutal over the past few years, but to see just how devastating it has been, you need to see before-and-after pictures side by side.

Bay Area News Group photojournalist Nhat V. Meyer went out to the San Luis Reservoir in Merced County this week and took pictures in approximately the same places that he did in January 2019. The reservoir is one of the largest in California.

The results are startling.