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Storms In California Continue To Cause Deluges And Mudslides
(CTN NEWS) – LOS ANGELES – California experienced little relief from heavy rains Tuesday as the latest in a succession of storms flooded roadways, turned rivers into flood zones, and drove thousands to abandon towns with catastrophic mudslide histories.
Last week, 14 people perished.
The storm brought significant snow to the Sierra Nevada a day after dropping 14 inches of rain in central and southern California.
Whiteouts closed miles of Sierra roadways, and avalanche warnings were posted in the backcountry. Mammoth Mountain ski resort recorded 4.5 to 5.5 feet of snow, with more predicted.
After a little break, another storm was anticipated to hit the state on Wednesday, further saturating flood-prone areas.
People carrying their belongs arrive at an evacuation center in Santa Barbara, Calif., Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
More than 200,000 households and businesses lost power early Tuesday due to the storms, according to poweroutage.us.
San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento Valley, and Monterey Bay are under a flood watch through Tuesday. Recent wildfires might cause mud and debris to slide off denuded hillsides that haven’t recovered their flora.
Forecasts said that the storm was likely to bring enough rain to enhance flooding and increase mudslide risk.
Southwestern California could witness 60 mph (97 kph) wind gusts and 13 mm of rain per hour at the storm’s peak.
Two persons were killed by falling trees, bringing the storm-related death toll to 14.
Flooding, mud or rockslides, heavy snow, automobile spinouts, and truck wrecks stopped segments of U.S. and state roadways in California late Monday. U.S. 101 northbound lanes were closed.
Caltrans crews work to clear a mudslide on Highway 17 that resulted from heavy rain from an atmospheric river storm in the Santa Cruz Mountains 1/4-mile south of Glenwood Drive in Scott’s Valley, Calif., on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Santa Cruz County ordered 32,000 residents near flooded rivers and creeks to evacuate. The San Lorenzo River flooded, and drone footage showed residences and car tops submerged.
A 5-year-old kid disappeared in central coast flooding Monday.
The boy’s mother’s truck became stuck near Paso Robles. Bystanders freed her, but the boy was washed away, probably into a river, said Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Department Assistant Chief Tom Swanson.
Officials called off the seven-hour search for the missing kid after water levels grew too risky for divers. The youngster has not been certified deceased, said sheriff’s spokesman Tony Cipolla.
Santa Barbara County, 130 miles south, ordered 10,000 to leave.
Linda Orengo, 69, surveys flood damage to her home in the Santa Cruz County town of Felton, Calif., where the San Lorenzo River, swelled by torrential rains, reached major flood stage before dawn on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. (John Woolfolk/Bay Area News Group via AP)
The beachside neighborhood was forced to vacate on the fifth anniversary of a mudslide that killed 23 people and destroyed 100 homes in Montecito.
After water and a sinkhole destroyed 15 homes in Orcutt, county officials evacuated 20 dwellings.
Jamie McLeod’s property was under the Montecito evacuation order, but she said she couldn’t “get off the mountain” with a creek and mudslide. The 60-year-old Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary proprietor says an employee got caught delivering food.
McLeod feels lucky that her home is on high ground and has power. Since the wildfire and landslide five years ago, she’s tired of periodic evacuation orders.
“Moving isn’t easy,” McLeod added. “Except in disaster, I enjoy it.”
Flooding from huge amounts of rain are seen in a neighborhood off of Holohan Road near Watsonville, Calif. on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023.(Brontë Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Ellen DeGeneres posted an Instagram video of herself near her Montecito home with Portia de Rossi. She wrote that they were ordered to shelter in place because they’re on high ground.
La Conchita in Ventura County was also evacuated. 2005 mudslide killed 10 there.
Monday was the highest level on record for the Ventura River in Ventura County. More than a dozen people were rescued by firefighters using helicopters. Overnight, the water dropped to a minor flood stage.
3 feet (1 meter) of mud and rock flooded onto State Highway 126, stranding cars and trucks. Nighttime crews freed them.
Monday night in Chatsworth, Los Angeles, a sinkhole devoured two cars. Two persons escaped independently, while firefighters rescued two with minor injuries.
Duck Derrington, 61 of Lompoc, sleeps in his car at the parking lot of an evacuation center in Santa Barbara, Calif., Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
The National Weather Service warned of a “relentless parade of atmospheric rivers” Storms last week knocked out power, flooded streets, and damaged the coast.
President Biden declared a state of emergency for more than a dozen counties Monday.
Storms have helped fill low reservoirs in much of California, but the drought persists.
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