In California, flooding caused by heavy rains can be seen near Watsonville. January 9, 2023
California was hit again by another strong storm. A 5-year-old boy died after being swept away in floodwaters. The entire community of Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry was forced to flee the coast on January 9. It was the fifth anniversary since the devastating mudslides.
Tens of thousands remained without power, with some schools closing for the day. Streets and highways became gushing rivers as trees fell and mud slid. Motorists groaned when they came across fallen debris roadblocks. State officials stated that the death toll from the unending storms rose from 12 to 14, after two people were struck by fallen trees.
After a search that lasted seven hours, officials found only one shoe. Officials then declared the boy dead because of high water levels. Tony Cipolla, spokesperson from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said that the boy has not yet been declared dead.
Caltrans crews clean up a mudslide that occurred on Highway 17 due to heavy rains, which resulted in an atmospheric riverstorm in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of Glenwood Drive. Scott’s Valley in California. January 9, 2023 Photo Credit: AP
According to Tom Swanson assistant chief of Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Department, the boy’s mom was driving a truck that became stuck in floodwaters at Paso Robles. The incident occurred just before 8 a.m., which is an hour inland from California’s central coast.
While bystanders managed to pull the mother from the truck, the boy was swept away from the truck and downstream, probably into a river, Mr. Swanson stated. The area was not under evacuation orders at that time.
A total of 130 miles (209 kms) to the south, Montecito’s entire community and nearby canyons were evacuated on the fifth anniversary from a mudslide which claimed 23 lives and destroyed over 100 homes in the coastal enclave.
On Jan. 9, two cars were submerged in a Chatsworth sinkhole, Los Angeles. Authorities say that two people were able to escape by themselves, and firefighters used ropes as well as an aerial ladder to rescue two minor injuries.
According to the National Weather Service, there was a one-inch (2.5 cm) rainfall rate per hour. Heavy downpours were expected all night in this upscale area with roads that wind through hillsides with large houses. Montecito lies between the Pacific Ocean and the mountains. It is home to celebrities such as Rob Lowe, Prince Harry, and Meghan the Duke and Duchess.
Jeremy String walks in floodwaters from heavy rains that have flooded his neighborhood, Holohan Road, near Watsonville in California. January 9, 2023
Ellen DeGeneres shared an Instagram clip in which she was standing in front a raging river near Montecito, where her home is with actor Portia De Rossi. She stated in the Instagram post that she was told to shelter in place since they are high up.
In the video, the talk show host says “This is crazy!” She’s wearing a raincoat and a hoodie. “The creek right next to our house has never flowed, ever.” It’s likely to be nine feet high, and it will rise another two feet.
Jamie McLeod was evacuating her property from Montecito, but she claimed that there is no way to get off the mountain with a rushing stream on one side, and a mudslide the other. The Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary owner, 60 years old, said that one of her employees was there to deliver weekly food and she is now stuck.
McLeod explained that her home is high up and still has power. However, she admitted that she is tired of being notified to evacuate every five years since the huge wildfire that followed by the deadly landslide.
Ms. McLeod stated, “It is difficult to relocate.” “I absolutely love it, except in disaster.”
Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown stated the evacuation of nearly 10,000 people was due to the “continuing high rate” of rainfall. Many roads and creeks were flooding.
In a neighborhood off Holohan Road, near Watsonville in California, floods from large amounts of rain can be seen. On January 9, 2023. Photo Credit: AP
Northbound lanes on U.S. 101 (a critical coastal route) were to be closed until January 10. Numerous other highways were closed by flooding and rockslides.
Santa Cruz County, up the coast, issued evacuation orders to 32,000 residents who lived near creeks and rivers that had been flooded. The San Lorenzo River was declared flood stage and drone footage showed many homes sitting in brown water with the tops of their cars peeking out.
Maria Cucchiara, a tiny, flooded Felton resident, took a walk after “a large branch harpooned” her small studio roof.
“I have 2 kitties and it could have been fatal. She stated that it was “over a tonne.” It was extremely disturbing,” she said.
Nicole Martin, who owns the Fern River Resort, Felton, described a more casual scene on January 9. As the San Lorenzo waters rose, her clients enjoyed coffee and other refreshments amid the redwoods.
The abandoned cars are piled up in Santa Barbara’s flooded streets. on January 9, 20,23.
Martin said that the river lies approximately 60 feet below the cabins but can creep up to 12 foot (4 metres) from them.
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District reports that several Northern California districts had closed schools, and that more than 35,000 Sacramento residents were still without power. This is a significant drop from the 350,000 who were without power a day earlier, when gusts of 60 mph (97 KPH) battered trees into power lines. On Jan. 9, a homeless person was killed in the area by a fallen tree.
The National Weather Service warned about a “relentless parade o atmospheric rivers” — plumes of moisture reaching out into the Pacific, which can drop astonishing amounts of rain and snow. The next few days will see precipitation after last week’s storms, which flooded the streets and damaged the coastline.
President Joe Biden declared an emergency on Jan. 9 in support of storm response and relief efforts across more than a dozen countries.
The weather service issued a flood warning for large portions of Northern and Central California. There is expected to be 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30-centimeters of rain) in the already saturated Sacramento area foothills through Wednesday.
Los Angeles, California: There was potential to receive as much as 8 in (20 cm) of rain late on Jan. 9-10. High surf was also possible.
California’s drought conditions are severe to severe for large swathes of the state, although storms have filled in depleted reservoirs.