California Mudslides

A powerful winter storm swept across California on Wednesday, with heavy rain and gusty winds leading to evacuation warnings for mudslides in the south, bringing near white-out snow conditions in the mountains and hazardous travel for millions of holiday drivers. Forecasters said Southern California could see its wettest Christmas in years and warned about flash flooding and mudslides. Areas scorched by January's wildfires were under evacuation warnings, and Los Angeles County officials said Tuesday they were going door to door to about 380 especially vulnerable homes to order residents to evacuate. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department also issued an evacuation warning Wednesday morning for the community of Wrightwood, a mountain resort town in the San Gabriel Mountains about 80 miles (130 kilometres) northeast of Los Angeles, due to potential mud and debris flows from the storm. Debris and mud were seen rushing down the road leading into Wrightwood in a social media video

One of the wettest storms in Southern California history began to ease up on Tuesday after bombarding Los Angeles with nearly half of its seasonal rainfall in just two days. Although the rain was tapering off, the threat of potentially deadly landslides persisted. The slow-moving storm that parked itself over the region on Monday and dumped a record amount of rain on sections of the nation's second-largest city could linger into Wednesday, the National Weather Service said. Scattered showers and possible thunderstorms were expected to bring light to moderate rain to the region, but some places could get brief yet fierce downpours that could dump up ton an inch (roughly 2.5 centimeters) of rain in an hour. Crews have responded to 307 mudslides and five buildings have been deemed uninhabitable since the atmospheric river-fuelled storm moved into the region over the weekend, Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley said at a news conference on Tuesday. Despite the torrents of rain, ...

Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Southern California from the coast to inland mountains and deserts Sunday evening, prompting rescues from swollen rivers and forcing some of the nation's largest school districts to cancel Monday classes. Millions braced for more flooding and mudslides, even as the storm began to weaken. The first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, Hilary brought intensifying rain to the region, with some mountain and desert areas seeing more than half an average year's worth of rain come down in just one day, including the desert resort city of Palm Springs, which saw nearly 3 inches of rain by Sunday evening. Forecasters warned of dangerous flash floods across Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, and fire officials rescued a dozen people from knee-deep water in a homeless encampment along the rising San Diego River. Meanwhile, rain and debris washed out some roadways and people left their cars stranded in standing water. Crews pumped floodwaters out

At least 16 people have died in a barrage of severe winter storms in California as the most populous state in the US braces for more floods and mudslides

At least 28 people were injured, authorities said, while 30,000 remained subject to mandatory evacuation orders

Death toll is likely to rise, reported CNN