The Southern California mudslides triggered by the heavy rains have killed one person and forced mass evacuation of hundreds of residents. The victim's body was found in a rain-swollen flood-control channel in the Orange County town of Garden Grove. The death marked the third storm-related fatality on the West Coast since Thursday.
On Friday, Southern California was pummeled by a powerful storm that brought threats for mudslides, flooding and power outages. After strong winds, heavy rain and snow drenched Northern California the previous day, Fox News reported the tempest now dumped the badly needed rain in the southern part of the state.
On Thursday, the same storm, which triggered the Southern California mudslides, also closed major highways and caused widespread power interruptions in the San Francisco area. According to BBC News, over 200,000 residents were still without power on Friday particularly in further north of Oregon and Washington State.
As a powerful storm struck wildfire-burnt and draught-suffering Southern California on Friday, authorities are still on the watch for mudslides and floods as tens of thousands were left without power and dozens of evacuations were ordered.
A landslide coming from a hillside around 50 miles from Los Angeles, in the city of Camarillo, clamped down dozens of homes with debris, including mud, sticks, and rocks, which are as big as a table. RT.com reported some of the houses were covered up to their rooftops with rubbles. From the area, Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. Don Aguilar said local authorities ordered at least 124 mandatory evacuations.
Following the storm's damage, 40 people were displaced and two people taken to hospital. Meanwhile, Yahoo! News reported the Los Angeles Fire Department said rescue teams saved two people after they were swept away in the fast-moving Los Angeles River near a homeless campsite.
As reported by utility officials, great winds tore down power lines throughout the region leaving majority of the residents without electricity.
Aside from flooding and landslides, a small tornado descended in South Los Angeles. As said by National Weather Service Specialist Stuart Seto, the tornado, which was the first in LA since 2004, damaged the roofs of an apartment complex and two houses. Though the twister was an EFO, the smallest category for a tornado, it ripped up a billboard. Luckily, no one was hurt, Seto added.
As stated by the National Weather Service, the severe weather that triggered Southern California mudslides and included thunderstorms was caused by a storm system called a "pineapple express," a large low-pressure area that carried massive amounts of moisture from the tropical Pacific near the Hawaiian Islands.
The Southern California mudslides were so powerful that two large bulldozers used as a barricade were knocked over and one of them was almost completely buried.
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