Khaberni - Heavy rainfall caused sudden floods as warnings of mudslides were issued in southern California areas, while the continuation of the rain and strong winds is expected on Friday, according to US officials.
Due to the "atmospheric river," a weather phenomenon carrying high moisture from tropical regions to the coast and causing heavy rainfall, storms hitting the American state are expected to result in precipitation amounts in days that usually fall over months.
Early Thursday morning, the National Weather Service predicted heavy rainfall in Southern California, including Los Angeles.
The service warned that a very humid air mass will cause heavy rains in California, indicating the possibility of sudden flooding, with the risk of debris flow, especially in areas where wildfires have severely damaged the vegetation cover and weakened the soil.
Heavy rainfall began in Southern California on Wednesday. The service expected its continuation into Friday.
The Los Angeles Times reported that at least three people died in storm-related incidents, including a man who was killed by a falling tree.
Storms, accompanied by winds reaching speeds of up to 90 kilometers per hour, are expected in parts of Southern California.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and surrounding areas on Wednesday.
City officials said on Thursday: "We have not cleared the danger yet. Rain is still falling heavily in Los Angeles, making roads and waterways and drainage channels extremely dangerous," calling on residents to check the road conditions before going out.
Rescue Operations
In San Bernardino County, adjacent to Los Angeles, authorities explained to Agence France-Presse that they worked on Thursday to divert floodwaters.
The spokesman for the civil defense in the county, Christopher Prater, said that muddy waters swept through the mountain town of Wrightwood the previous day, trapping residents in their homes.
He added: "Firefighters were deployed to rescue people and help them leave their homes and reach safety, as well as to rescue those trapped in their vehicles," noting that the rescue operations continued throughout the night.
The areas still recovering from the devastating wildfires that erupted in January, including coastal areas like Pacific Palisades and Malibu, were put on high alert. These areas suffer from a reduced ability to absorb water due to the loss of vegetation cover.
In Northern California, a severe storm was detected in the early hours of Thursday forming in the San Francisco Bay Area, prompting the issuance of an emergency flood warning, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The National Weather Service warned on Thursday that a severe storm near Santa Cruz could turn into a cyclone.
It also predicted that a winter storm would cause heavy snow on the Sierra Nevada mountains along California's eastern border.
