Mudflows, floods and fires: the storm brought casualties and destruction to Los Angeles

On February 5, a storm of historic proportions dumped record amounts of rain on parts of Los Angeles, California. Landslides, destroying the homes of residents, carried dirt and boulders along the hillsides, reports AP.

Photo: IStock

The storm was caused by an atmospheric river, a relatively narrow plume of moisture that forms over the ocean and causes heavy rainfall as it moves over land.

About 1,4 million residents of Los Angeles, including the Hollywood Hills and Beverly Hills, were at risk of flash flooding on February 5. On this day, almost a million people across the state were left without power.

A record 4 centimeters of rain fell in downtown Los Angeles on February 10,41, surpassing the maximum of 6,48 centimeters recorded in 1927, the National Weather Service reported.

On the subject: An atmospheric storm hits California: roads are flooded, a million people are left without electricity

Mudflows, floods and fires

On February 5, a mudslide caused significant damage to approximately five homes in Beverly Hills, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. According to the department, no one was injured, but about 10 people were forced to leave their homes.

On February 5, rescue crews evacuated people from fast-moving waters in various parts of Southern California, including 16 people and five cats in Los Angeles County alone.

Among those rescued were two homeless people who spent the night on a small island in the Santa Ana River in San Bernardino (about 88,51 km east of Los Angeles).

“People were cold and tired after the night. They were stuck on this little piece of land in the middle of the river,” said Capt. Nathan Lopez of the San Bernardino County Fire Department. Among those rescued were a dog and two cats.

At a press conference, authorities said that although the intensity of the rain decreased on February 6, the threat of flooding remains high.

“The soil is extremely saturated, even oversaturated,” said Ariel Cohen, a Los Angeles meteorologist. “It can’t hold extra water.” It doesn’t take much rain for new landslides, mudflows, rockfalls and other troubles to occur.”

Down on Studio City near the Hollywood Hills, floodwaters carried away dirt, rocks, household items including refrigerators, ladders and plastic crates, damaging at least two homes, city officials said. Sixteen people were evacuated.

"It's like a river that's been flowing for years," said Keki Mingus, whose neighbors' homes were damaged. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The Los Angeles Fire Department said 1000 firefighters battled 49 mudslides, 130 floods and a half-dozen structure fires. They were able to rescue several motorists who were stuck in their cars.

Drake Livingston, who lives in the Beverly Crest area, was watching a movie around midnight when a friend warned him about the flooding.

“We looked outside and there was 40cm of running water and it was starting to seep through the doors,” said Livingston, whose car was found buried in mud that morning.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass urged residents to avoid driving and warned of fallen trees and power lines on flooded roads.

Shelters were adding beds for the city's nearly 75 homeless people.

Tony Sanz spent the night in a city park and went out at dawn to find higher ground as floodwaters rose around his tent.

“Oh, it rained last night,” he said on the afternoon of February 5, squatting in a tent on the sidewalk outside a supermarket. Noticing clouds in the sky during a break between showers, a man thought: “Is that all? I hope that's all." Not yet, say weather forecasters.

Lost and Saved

The weather service is forecasting up to 20 cm of rain in coastal and valley areas of Southern California, with up to 35 cm expected in the foothills and mountains over the next two days.

Authorities reported several spills on Feb. 5, including the release of about 5 million gallons of untreated sewage in the Rancho Dominguez area surrounding Compton. Most of the untreated sewage went into a canal leading to the Pacific Ocean. The city closed an 11,27-mile stretch of Long Beach to swimming.

Most Los Angeles public schools remained open, but some districts closed their schools. The weather forced the closure of theme parks such as Knott's Berry Farm, Six Flags Magic Mountain and SeaWorld San Diego, as well as Disneyland.

The storm flooded streets, toppled trees and prompted rescue efforts across the San Francisco Bay Area over the weekend.

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Falling trees killed two men on Feb. 4, one in Carmichael, a suburb of Sacramento, and the other in Boulder Creek in Santa Cruz County. Police were investigating the death of another man in Yuba City, about 160 miles northeast of San Francisco, who was found Feb. 4 under a redwood tree in his backyard.

Evacuation orders were issued in many parts of the country, from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles counties, where temporary shelters were set up.

Nineteen people were rescued off the coast of Long Beach on February 4 after the sailboat they were traveling on lost its mast due to hurricane-force winds.

Heavy snow fell across the Sierra Nevada and motorists were urged to avoid mountain roads.

The intensity of the rain is expected to decrease slightly from what occurred over the weekend as the storm system moves east into the desert, forecasters said. The potential for flash flooding will extend into western Arizona, southern Nevada and southwestern Utah.

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