Californians brace for floods, mudslides and avalanches after heavy winter storm

A POWERFUL storm blasted America’s west coast, with thousands preparing for floods, mudslides and even avalanches.

RESCUERS are today taking advantage of a one-day break between winter storms to rescue people stranded by heavy rain and snow in California.

The wild weather dumped more than 30 centimetres of water in the state’s north since Saturday, and parts of Nevada were also severely affected.

California’s governor has today declared a state of emergency, and while there have been no major delays at international airports in Los Angeles and San Francisco, travellers are advised to drive with extreme care, and tune into local media for information about hazards.

“It’s been about 10 years since we’ve experienced this kind of rainfall,” Steve Anderson, a National Weather Service forecaster, told AP.

“We’re getting a little bit of a break today, but we have another storm system arriving tomorrow that’s not quite as potent but could still cause problems.”

Heavy snowfall has forced the closure of a number of resorts in the state’s Sierra Nevada mountains, due to the risk of avalanche.

Some of the mountains near Yosemite National Park received more than 2.1 metres of snow in just 48 hours, with more expected to fall in coming days.

Heavy snow pummels California

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Torrential rain caused flooding in Sonoma County, one of the state’s most famous wine regions, forcing the closure of many schools and roads.

The nearby Russian River rose to its highest level since 2006, spilling over its banks and seeping through vineyards.

This year’s flood has been particularly worrisome because it threatened to topple trees weakened by six years of drought.

A giant sequoia — one of the largest trees in the world — that was famous for having a road through the middle fell and shattered overnight. Further north, an eight-year-old girl was killed when a tree fell on her family’s Oregon home.

Toppled trees also crashed against cars and homes and blocked roads in the San Francisco Bay Area. Stranded motorists had to be rescued from cars stuck on flooded roads. The city itself got just over five centimetres of rain.

A giant tree fell across a highway in Hillsborough to the south of San Francisco, injuring a driver who could not stop in time and drove into the tree. And a woman was killed Saturday by a falling tree while she took a walk on a golf course.

The absence of well-established root system also increases the risk of mudslides, particularly in hilly areas north of Los Angeles.

— with Associated Press