‘Life-threatening landslides’ hit California, 1.4 million people under rare flash flood warning
A powerful storm hit California on Monday, causing flooding and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.
More than 1.4 million people were under rare flash flood warnings as the storm swept through the Los Angeles basin. The National Weather Service said 9 inches of rain fell in the area.
Officials are particularly worried about the Hollywood Hills and Santa Monica Mountains, where the National Weather Service has warned of “life-threatening landslides and additional flash flooding.”
Officials in northern California reported one death as the storm passed there. An elderly man in Yuba City died when a redwood tree fell in his backyard.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
key events
Here are some photos of the effects of major atmospheric river storms hitting California:
The storm brought heavy snow to California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, and experts said it could be the biggest snowfall event of the season.
The ski resort of Palisades Tahoe said Sunday it was expecting its heaviest snowfall so far this winter. 2 feet of snow has fallen in four days, with another 1 to 2 feet expected.
The UC Berkeley Central Mountains Snow Laboratory reported more than a foot of snow fell on the final day.
We received 14.8 inches (37.5 cm) #Snow Gained 20.7 inches (52.5 cm) on the last day. Today we expect more.
High winds caused power outages overnight, but everything is back to normal.
Figure: Weighing a snow sample to obtain its moisture content.#CAwx #CAwater pic.twitter.com/G3qmnrFAJg
— Central Serlash Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley (@UCB_CSSL) February 5, 2024
Heavy snowfall is expected to continue throughout the Sierra Nevada on Monday. Authorities urged motorists to avoid mountainous roads.
More than 500,000 people in California are without power
More than 500,000 California homes and businesses were without power, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks power outages across the country.
The outages are concentrated in northern California and could affect more than one million people. In some counties, nearly half the residents were without power as strong winds, some with gusts of up to 100 mph, downed trees and power lines.
Pacific Gas & Electric Co., which provides power to nearly half of California residents, said “hazardous weather conditions” could affect the time it takes for them to restore service.
In Los Angeles, heavy rainfall triggered mudslides in the Hollywood and Santa Monica mountains.
Firefighters evacuated several houses from Studio City and Tarzana overnight after mud, rocks and trees flowed into them. No one was injured.
“I’ve been doing damage reports all night, so I’m seeing quite a bit of damage and people being evacuated from their homes because of the mudslides,” said Todd Hall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service near Los Angeles.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsay Horvath urged residents near areas burned by wildfires in Topanga and Soledad Canyon to heed orders to evacuate ahead of possible mudslides.
Officials have issued evacuation orders and warnings for mountain and canyon areas in Los Angeles County and Monterey, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
Storms swept across northern California on Sunday, flooding roads and knocking down power lines and trees.
The Weather Service’s San Francisco Bay Area office released its first “Hurricane force wind warning”. Wind speeds in the area exceeded 60 mph (96 km/h), with gusts reaching 80 mph (128 km/h) in mountainous areas.
A hillside collapse in downtown San Francisco blocked traffic Sunday afternoon.
In the south, in San Jose, emergency services rescued stranded motorists from flooded cars and rescued people from homeless camps along swollen rivers.
‘Life-threatening landslides’ hit California, 1.4 million people under rare flash flood warning
A powerful storm hit California on Monday, causing flooding and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.
More than 1.4 million people were under rare flash flood warnings as the storm swept through the Los Angeles basin. The National Weather Service said 9 inches of rain fell in the area.
Officials are particularly worried about the Hollywood Hills and Santa Monica Mountains, where the National Weather Service has warned of “life-threatening landslides and additional flash flooding.”
Officials in northern California reported one death as the storm passed there. An elderly man in Yuba City died when a redwood tree fell in his backyard.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
