Southern California is experiencing a severe storm with heavy rain causing flooding, mudslides, and significant damage to infrastructure. The recent “Pineapple Express” storm has brought over 11 inches of rain to the Los Angeles area, making it one of the city’s wettest days on record.
The National Weather Service warns that the torrential downpours are continuing and authorities expect more destruction. Wind gusts of 75 mph (121 kph) caused power outages for around 875, 000 homes in the San Francisco Bay Area and California’s Central Coast.
On Sunday, two people tragically lost their lives due to trees being toppled by strong winds. An 82-year-old man in the former gold rush town of Yuba City and a 45-year-old man in Boulder Creek, located in the coastal Santa Cruz Mountains, were the unfortunate victims.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the most significant risk of flash flooding on Monday was concentrated in Southern California. The weather system gradually moved and extended further into the interior of California. However, forecasters mentioned that the likelihood of “catastrophic” impacts was low.
Several homes in the Hollywood Hills, each worth several million dollars, sustained damage when a deluge of mud, rocks, and debris surged through the area.
The extreme weather has put a strain on emergency services. The Los Angeles Police Department has reported a significant rise in traffic collisions, while the Los Angeles Fire Department is facing multiple challenges, responding to over 130 flooding incidents and numerous debris flows.
Upscale communities such as the Hollywood Hills and Beverly Hills have been particularly affected, with landslides causing extensive damage to both property and infrastructure. Jeb Johenning, a resident of Beverly Hills, described the scenes as harrowing, with mudslides resembling an avalanche descending upon his neighborhood.
According to a report in USA Today, the record-breaking 11. 87 inches of rain measured at UCLA’s weather station within a 24-hour period is an exceptionally rare meteorological phenomenon. Meteorologist Jacob Feuerstein has classified it as a “1, 000-year recurrence interval event,” indicating that the likelihood of such an event occurring is statistically projected to be once in a millennium.
In other words, as explained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the USA Today report states that it is a method used to measure the probability of encountering a significant amount of rainfall in a particular location within a year.
