Los Angeles:: A mudslide and floods caused by a sudden downpour ripped through areas near Los Angeles. The region had recently been badly affected by a forest fire that removed much of the surrounding vegetation.
At least 13 people were killed on Tuesday after a powerful rainstorm triggered a mudslide in Montecito, a town 145 kilometers (90 miles) northwest of Los Angeles, according to Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown.
“We have had a very challenging day,” said Yaneris Muniz, a spokeswoman for Santa Barbara County, adding that search and rescue operations are ongoing.
The Thomas fire scorched much of the region last month in what was the largest wildfire ever recorded in California. With heavy rain forecast, authorities had ordered evacuations beneath the burned areas of Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties, but only 10 to 15 percent of residents heeded the mandatory orders, according to the Santa Barbara police department.
The worst rainfall came at 3.30 p.m. local time (2330 UTC), when Montecito received more than a half inch (1.3 centimeters) of rain in a five-minute period. With the wildfires leaving behind a waxy layer of debris that made it difficult for water to infiltrate the ground, the downpour caused flash floods in the fire-scarred Santa Ynez Mountains. The flash floods caused mud and boulders to roll down hills, turning roads in to mud rivers and ripping homes off their foundations.
American talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, who has a residence in Montecito, tweeted a picture of US Highway 101, which was turned into a giant mud river. American actors Oprah Winfrey and Rob Lowe also have residences in the area.
With roads blocked, rescue crews used helicopters to pluck people from their rooftops. At least 50 people have been rescued so far, and about 300 are stranded in one neighborhood. At least 25 others were injured.