A storm moving through Southern California produced record-setting rains in Los Angeles, bringing flooding, mudslides, and power outages to the region.
The powerful Pacific storm began Sunday, and the University of California, Los Angeles, recorded 12 inches of rain in 24 hours on Monday, a “1-in-1,000-year” event.
“The rain has been more so a moderate, steady rainfall as opposed to just pockets of really heavy rainfall rates,” Elizabeth Adams, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego, said. “The way that it’s playing out right now has just been a lot steadier, and hopefully this trend continues so we can avoid some of that catastrophic flooding that we were worried about.”
The Los Angeles Fire Department said more than 300 landslides have been reported in the wake of the powerful atmospheric river storm. Mudslides damaged some homes in the Hollywood Hills, forcing Los Angeles residents to evacuate.
As of Tuesday morning, the National Weather Service put flood watches in effect for California, Nevada, and Arizona.
At least three people have died in Northern California from downed trees, Brian Ferguson, spokesman for the governor’s Office of Emergency Services, said.
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On Sunday, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) declared a state of emergency for eight California counties, including Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara. Evacuation orders were issued across some areas of Santa Barbara to Los Angeles counties, and emergency shelters were made available.
The California Department of Transportation closed both directions of the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu on Monday due to “existing or potential mudslides and flooding,” and dozens of other roads were closed, including in San Diego. California Highway Patrol Officer Jorge Alfaro said both the north and south sides of the highway reopened as of Tuesday morning, according to the Ventura County Star.
