One of the most powerful storms to hit southern California in years has left at least two dead
One of the most powerful storms to hit southern California in years has left at least two dead.
The driver of a car in Sherman Oaks was electrocuted on Friday when heavy wind and rain downed power lines along Sepulveda Boulevard and onto the 55-year-old man’s vehicle, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement.
In the desert community of Victorville, a resident died when raging waters submerged the driver’s car, according to firefighters.
The storm raged on Saturday — showing now signs of stopping as residents were met with floods, mudslides, sinkholes, fallen trees, and winds of upward to 70 miles per hour.
In some areas, the water measured as high as five feet — while the rain turned one Los Angeles parking garage into a water park.
The National Weather Service put much of the state under flood watch through the weekend, warning that the “rapid runoff ” could lead to “rising creeks/streams, cars swept away in rushing flood waters, downed trees, mudslides/debris flows and sinkholes.”
In total, forecasters predicted between four to six inches of rain — a massive amount of rain for a state that has been battling drought for years.
Even emergency vehicles were effected by the disaster — including a fire truck that was washed away in San Bernardino county.
Many took to social media to share images for the storm — including celebrities like Ireland Baldwin and Busy Philipps who showed falling trees in their yards.
Balwin had a tree down in her driveway that prevented her from leaving her house.
“Anyone expecting me to get anywhere this weekend it’s not happening,” she wrote in one Instagram. “Thanks for understanding.”
“Completely stuck in my house until this figured out!” she added in another post. “Guys can’t come out until it stops raining! We are stuck in my house (which I don’t mind ever) but whoever says Californians have p—- weather can eat nails because this is insane!”
Philipps showed video on her Instagram Stories of a neighbor’s tree that split and fell on her porch.
More than 300 arriving and departing flights were cancelled at Los Angeles International airport due to the storm. Amtrak also shut down trips between southern and central California.
