Mudslides

Mudslides and flash floods swept through portions of inland Southern California on Tuesday as the lingering effects of Tropical Storm Kay continued to wreak havoc — including at the Oak Glen Steakhouse in Yucaipa, in San Bernardino County.

A series of large storms continues to hit the entire state of California this week, bringing much-needed rain and snow that will guarantee the water supply — but also new hazards to areas already hit by recent natural disasters.

Heavy flooding triggered by torrential rain washed out several bridges in the Indonesian province of West Sumatra.

California’s Highway 101, a key north-south thoroughfare, remains closed in the coastal city of Montecito due to last Tuesday’s deadly mudslide, which has left the road filled with mud, water, and debris.

The death toll in the mudslides in Montecito, California, rose to 17 on Wednesday, with over a dozen people still considered missing as rescue crews rushed to save those still trapped by the debris.

Media icon and potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Oprah Winfrey filmed herself wading through mudslide debris at her estate Montecito, California, and posted the footage to the Internet on Wednesday.

Several residents were confirmed dead in mudslides in the city of Montecito in Santa Barbara County, California, on Tuesday as firefighters staged dramatic rescues, extricating people from homes that had been filled with mud.

Local authorities have ordered evacuations in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties in areas below mountains and hillsides that were burned in the recent Thomas fire, as the winter’s first major rainstorm approaches California.

A strengthening La Niña weather pattern has brought cooler temperatures to the world — except in California, where it is expected to be dry and warm for the next three months.

While California prepares nervously for the coming El Niño, a host of unwanted consequences from the expected rainstorms could prove troublesome for the drought-ravaged state–mudslides, flash floods and now, a threat to the state’s unsheltered homeless population.

Hurricane Patricia was hailed as an historic and potentially catastrophic storm as it slammed into the Mexican Pacific coast with sustained winds of over 200 miles per hour. But despite the fears and warnings, the Category 5 hurricane made landfall the evening of October 23 just south of Puerto Vallarta without any loss of life or massive damage to critical infrastructure.

Southern California motorists were left stranded on highways Thursday, as drenching rain and golf ball-sized hail bore down on the area, causing dangerous flash flooding.