California faces prospect of more storms with 14 dead so far

California did not see relief from drenching rain early Tuesday, as the latest in a string of desperate storms continue to swamp the road and hit the coast with high surf, turning the river into a gushing flood zone and forcing the evacuation of thousands in cities with a history of deadly mudslides. At least 14 people have died since the storm started last week.

The storm prompted several tornado warnings early Tuesday and is also expected to bring heavy snow to the Sierra Nevada mountains later in the day after dumping up to 36 centimeters of rain on higher elevations in central and Southern California.

After a short break, another storm is expected to enter the country from Wednesday, adding to the misery and other saturated areas that are already at risk of flooding and debris flows. It could bring enough rain to increase flooding and increase the risk of landslides, forecasters said.

Forecasters also warned that southwestern California could see winds of 97 km/h at the peak of the storm, while some areas could receive 13 millimeters of rain per hour.

The death toll is rising

The storm so far has threatened coastal and riverside towns and left more than 200,000 homes and businesses without power as of early Tuesday, according to the website poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports. The weather service issued a flood watch through Tuesday for the entire San Francisco Bay Area, along with the Sacramento Valley and Monterey Bay. Areas affected by wildfires in recent years face the possibility of mud and debris sliding from hillsides that have not yet fully recovered their protective layer of vegetation.

The death toll from the storm that began last week rose from 12 to 14 on Monday, after two people, including a homeless man, were killed by falling trees, state officials said.

A five-year-old boy went missing in Monday’s floods on the central coast. The boy’s mother was driving the truck when it ran aground near Paso Robles. Bystanders managed to pull him free but the boy was swept out of the truck and carried away, probably into the river, said Tom Swanson, assistant chief of the Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Department.

California state highway authorities said on Monday night that parts of US and state roads were closed due to flooding, mud or rockslides, heavy snow or spinouts of cars and trucks.

Evacuation orders were issued in Santa Cruz County for about 32,000 residents living near rivers and streams swollen by rain. The San Lorenzo River was declared at flood stage and drone footage showed many houses sitting in muddy brown water, the tops of cars sticking out.

‘It’s not easy to go’

The roughly seven-hour search for the five-year-old boy was called off because the water level was too dangerous for divers, officials said. The boy has not been pronounced dead, said spokesman Tony Cipolla of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office.

About 210 kilometers to the south, about 10,000 people were ordered to evacuate in Santa Barbara County.

WATCH | Many Californians are suffering overnight:

The entire coastal community of Montecito – home to Prince Harry, Oprah Winfrey and other celebrities – was ordered to evacuate, while about an hour north county officials ordered the evacuation of 20 homes in the Orcutt area after flooding and a sinkhole damaged up to 15 homes.

Jamie McLeod’s property is under a Montecito evacuation order, but he said there is no way to “get off the mountain” with a rushing creek on one side and a mudslide on the other. The 60-year-old owner of the Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary said one of his employees comes to deliver food every week and is also stuck.

“It’s not easy to move,” McLeod said. “I am very happy [here]except in disaster.”

A few miles up the coast another town, La Conchita in Ventura County, was ordered to evacuate. A mudslide killed 10 people in 2005.

In Ventura County, the Ventura River reached a record high of more than eight feet on Monday. Firefighters used a helicopter to rescue more than a dozen people trapped on an island in rising waters. Water levels quickly dropped to minor flood levels during the night.

In Los Angeles, a sinkhole swallowed two cars in the Chatsworth area on Monday night. Two people escaped on their own and firefighters rescued two others with minor injuries, authorities said.

US President Joe Biden issued an emergency declaration on Monday to support storm response and relief efforts in more than ten counties, a move welcomed by Governor Gavin Newsom.

Much of California has been experiencing severe to extreme drought, although the storm helped fill depleted reservoirs.