– These floods are deadly and have been proven to be even deadlier than the wildfires that ravaged California, says California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The storm, which has been raging in the state since Dec. 26, caused severe flooding, closed major roads, and severe damage to homes and people.
At least 17 people have been confirmed dead after the extreme weather.
– This is crazy
Subtracted from the quantities of water
Five-year-old Kyle Doan is just one of those still missing after being washed away.
The mother of the five-year-old was driving a truck when it became stranded in flood waters near the California city of Paso Robles.
On Tuesday, the rescue operation was called off after a seven-hour search. Rescue personnel could only find the five-year-old’s shoes and the boy is presumed dead.
Authorities are expecting even more rain and snow in the most populous US state.
– Shocked
More than 230,000 California homes and businesses woke up without power Tuesday morning, according to monitoring site Poweroutage.us.
Cars have also fallen into huge sinkholes on the highways. Two motorists were rescued on Tuesday after they fell into a sinkhole on a Los Angeles street Sky News.
According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the two drivers escaped with no injuries, the newspaper reported Los Angeles Times.
The sinkhole on Iverson Road must be at least 15 meters deep and nine meters wide.
– This really shocked us, says Bill Crane (76), who lives in the town of Chatsworth with his wife, to the LA Times.
– We could never have imagined that such a thing could happen. I’ve lived here since 1997 and have never seen anything like it or so much rain, he adds
Landslide danger
Another 18 inches of rain is expected in Northern California on Wednesday as the Sierra Nevada Mountains brace for several feet of new snow.
After several weeks of rainy weather, there is a risk of landslides, mudslides and landslides in several places. This has led to the closure of several roads.
Residents of the city of Montecito outside Los Angeles, home to several celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, have been asked to evacuate their homes due to the risk of landslides.
Tough on the homeless
The storm left California’s large homeless population in a difficult situation.
At least one homeless man has died and more than a dozen people have been rescued from a camp on the Ventura River.
– In some places it becomes violent
Theo Harris, who has lived on the streets of San Francisco since 2016, tells Sky News that he has set up a shelter with a tarp and zip ties. He now lives there with his girlfriend after her tent was flooded.
– The wind was terrible, but you just have to pull yourself together and make sure you stay dry, Harris tells the media.