Some areas have received upwards of 9 inches of rainfall - and the storm is not over yet. This could mean disaster for some folks. Our prayers are with you.
A
mudslide reportedly occurred in Camarillo Springs, in Ventura County,
California, in the early-morning hours of Friday, Dec. 12, as heavy winds and
rain battered the region.
Shortly
after 2 a.m. local time, breaking news service VCscanner tweeted that multiple
emergency calls in the region reported residents stuck
inside their homes, as “large amounts of debris and heavy water flow"
prevented crews from accessing homes. A reporter from ABC7 News Los Angeles reported the local senior community
was under mud and rocks with several nearby homes badly damaged.
The Springs senior
community is under mud & rocks. Several homes badly damaged. Mandatory
evacuation ordered.
The
Ventura County Fire Department reported going door to door to check on
residents in the area, via Twitter.
NBC Los
Angeles reported the mudslide closed
a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway in Ventura County because of up
to 18 inches of mud on the roadway.
PCH closed between Las
Posas Rd. and Yerba Buena Rd. in Ventura County due to mud slide. Up to 18” of
mud on roadway, CHP says
The
National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning from 12:56 a.m. to 3:45 a.m. Friday for
the southern half of Ventura County. Some in the region were under a mandatory
evacuation order effective 2:30 a.m. local time. A mandatory evacuation means
an imminent threat exists.
Much of
drought-stricken California has been battered with intense rain and winds since
early Thursday morning, as have parts of Oregon and Washington. The
National Weather Service in Monterey, California, said Monday that this storm
is "expected to be one of the strongest storms in terms of wind and rain
intensity" since storms in October 2009 and January 2008.
On Nov.
2 of this year, a mudslide hit the same Camarillo Springs neighborhood of
Ventura County, spurring mandatory evacuations. No one was seriously injured.
Authorities said in that case, a clogged drainage canal prompted the mud flow, according
to ABC7 Los Angeles.
Last
May, the Springs Fire wildfire, which torched 25,000 acres, threatened the same
area, the television station reported.
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The 11-1-2014 Mudslides