Mudslides and severe flooding were reported in Los Angeles on Monday, as the storm headed toward Southern California after battering northern parts of the state was forecast to bring more heavy rain and wind for another day.
“Large wind and power outages will be the least dangerous part of the storm, which is about to emerge and begin to emerge in Southern California,” Dr. Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said during an online conference Sunday evening. “If you're worried about the North, I'm more worried about the South and what's to come.”
there Landslides on all canyon roads in and out of Malibu, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Also in the Studio City neighborhood, firefighters evacuated six people from two homes after water dragged debris into the area, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. Officials have warned that heavy rains are expected for the next 24 hours and the worst is yet to come.
The danger wasn't primarily caused by wind blowing down power lines or trees (thousands were still without power as of Sunday night). Instead, the danger came from the path of an atmospheric river, a large stream of moisture that meteorologists said was expected to stop in one of the country's most populous regions.
“I don't think the rain will stop for the next 24 to 36 hours,” said Dr. Swain said earlier Sunday.
On Sunday, forecasters and officials urged Los Angeles residents to prepare for flooding in valleys and streets in mudslides in the mountains. The entire district, home to nearly 10 million people, was under a flash flood warning till midnight.
As of Sunday night, more than four inches of rain had fallen in the Santa Monica Mountains and rainfall totals were rising at more than half an inch per hour, according to Joe Sirard, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard, north of Oxnard. Los Angeles.
When it rains heavily in the mountains, it rushes downhill, sometimes taking saturated ground with it, and collects in low-lying areas like the vast expanse of the San Fernando Valley, leaving intersections and streets under water. Rivers and streams may swell, overflow their banks, and flood their surrounding neighborhoods.
“It adds up to several hours of rain,” Mr. Sirard said.
Soumya Karlamangala Contributed report.
