Heavy rain storms in California leave three dead as of Christmas night
Heavy rainstorms have triggered floods and mudslides across much of California, killing three people as of Christmas night, according to local officials.
The storms, which were expected to continue through Friday, brought 11 inches (27 cm) of rain to parts of Los Angeles County, prompting evacuations and closing major highways.
Emergency responders had to perform numerous rescues, including people trapped in vehicles as floodwaters rose. California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and other Southern California counties on Wednesday.
As of Thursday evening, approximately 100,000 people were without power in the state.
“Multiple flash flood events are possible,” the U.S. Weather Prediction Center said Thursday.
“Many streams may also flood, potentially affecting larger rivers.”
A 64-year-old man from San Diego, California, was killed by a falling tree on Wednesday morning, the police department told US media.
Another 74-year-old died from floodwaters over the weekend in Redding, Calif., as police tried to rescue him from inside a vehicle, the town’s mayor told local news.
A woman in her 70s died Monday after “a large wave hit a rock and was swept into the ocean” at MacKerricher State Park in California’s Mendocino County, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Evacuation warnings were in effect for some residents of San Bernardino County in Southern California, and food alerts were issued for those in the San Francisco Bay area Thursday morning.
Wind speeds in the Bay Area reached 100 mph (161 kph) at an observatory near San Jose, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
According to the BBC’s US partner CBS News, residents of Altadena, near Los Angeles, experienced a landslide due to flooding in the burn scar area, which is less able to absorb water due to wildfires that ravaged the neighborhood in January this year.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also declared an emergency due to the storm and warned residents to be careful on the roads during busy holiday travel.
“I urge all Angelenos to stay safe and use extreme caution on the roads if you absolutely must travel,” he said in a statement Wednesday. “Please do not underestimate this storm.”
