A powerful storm swept through the state of California, western United States, yesterday, Saturday, causing the death of at least two people, and prompting the authorities to issue urgent warnings of floods and evacuate several areas in Los Angeles County, which recently suffered from forest fires.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles and Oxnard reported that the storm brought heavy rainfall of 2.5 centimeters per hour, especially in coastal areas sensitive to flash floods. Central Los Angeles also recorded nearly 5 centimeters of rain since Friday, which is more than double the average for November, which is only 2 centimeters. The storm caused trees to be uprooted and mud to be swept onto roads in a large number of areas in the state, while local media reported that high waves swept away a father and his five-year-old daughter on "Garrapata" beach on the "Big Sur" coast on Friday. The father was found dead later, while the girl is still missing. In another incident, a 71-year-old man died in "Sutter" County near Sacramento after flood waters swept away his car, according to local sources citing the county sheriff's office. The authorities had expanded the scope of flood warnings to include large areas of Los Angeles County before reducing them later, but weather experts confirmed the continued possibility of thunderstorms accompanied by heavy rain, strong winds, and hail during the evening hours.
