Massive Floods, Mudslides Thrash Southern California, But Dangerous Storm Isn’t Finished

(Los Angeles Times/TNS/Hamodia) – Over a million people were without power, multiple homes were damaged and at least one water rescue was underway as a large and dangerous storm system continued its push through Southern California through Monday.

The slow-moving atmospheric river parked itself over the Los Angeles metropolitan area late Sunday afternoon, jump-starting what the National Weather Service called “one of the most dramatic weather days in recent memory.” By Monday morning, the storm was straddling Los Angeles and Orange counties, where an “extremely dangerous situation” was unfolding including rushing rivers, downed trees, flooded streets and power outages, as well as landslides in the Hollywood Hills and Santa Monica Mountains.

In the San Fernando Valley, crews were responding to a report of a 6-year-old boy who needed rescue from a wash near Arleta, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The boy hadn’t been spotted, but crews were “staged at various rescue points along the waterway to attempt a rescue, and are searching by ground and air,” according to spokesperson Nicholas Prange.

The storm prompted a state of emergency declaration from Gov. Gavin Newsom along with evacuation orders and warnings for residents in and around wildfire burn scars in Sun Valley, Topanga, Juniper Hills and other local areas.

After receiving a request from LAPD, Hatzalah of Los Angeles assisted in evacuating the hills near Mullholland Drive before the storm hit.

Rainfall totals were continuing to pile up, including 10.28 inches in the Topanga area, 9.84 inches around Bel-Air and 5.3 inches in downtown Los Angeles — with much more on the way, according to Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

“There’s still a lot of rain to come,” he said. “There’s a lot of rain left.”

The plume of moisture was expected to linger over the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area through Monday night, followed by on-and-off rain Tuesday and possibly even some showers Wednesday, Kittell said.

“It’s definitely declining starting Wednesday,” he said, but “it’s not until after Friday that we get the all-clear.”

It is likely that Los Angeles will come close to, or even exceed, an all-time 24-hour rainfall record when all is said and done, he said.

By Monday morning, more than half a million people remained without power statewide.

Multiple vehicles were submerged Monday on Piuma Road near Calabasas, and another vehicle was submerged on Balkins Drive in Agoura Hills, according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials.

Some on-ramps and southbound lanes along the 5 Freeway were closed from Burbank to Los Feliz, as was a portion of State Route 23 near Banning Dam in Thousand Oaks, CalTrans said. State Route 33 was closed in both directions between Ojai and Lockwood Valley Road due to mudslides.

In Long Beach, 19 people were rescued Sunday from the rocks of the breakwater after the mast of a 40-foot boat they were on broke in high winds.

Officials urged Angelenos to stay home if possible. Those who must drive were advised to do so with caution, and to avoid deep water.