Hundreds trapped, dozens missing in Southern California mudslides
Dozens of people are missing in the Southern California mudslides, with 300 still trapped and the death toll climbing to 15.
Rescue workers are searching for dozens of people missing in the Southern California mudslides, with 300 still trapped and the death toll climbing to 15.
At least 100 homes were destroyed and dozens of cars were swept away after the slide swept through a landscape already razed in catastrophic wildfires last month.
Rescue workers pulled bodies from a river of mud and boulders on Wednesday and searched for people still trapped in the slips that buried homes after torrential rain earlier in the week.
People in Montecito, a wealthy enclave of about 9,000 people northwest of Los Angeles that is home to such celebrities as Oprah Winfrey, Rob Lowe and Ellen DeGeneres, had counted themselves lucky last month after the biggest wildfire in California history spared the town. But the fire destroyed the vegetation that would normally have halted the mudslides, leaving a free path for the torrent of mud, trees and boulders that slammed into this coastal town.
“We totally thought we were out of the woods,” said Jennifer Markham, whose home escaped damage in both disasters. “I was frozen yesterday morning thinking, ‘This is a million times worse than that fire ever was."’
“It’s just waiting and not knowing, and the more I haven’t heard from them — we have to find them,” said Kelly Weimer, whose elderly parents’ home was wrecked by the landslides.
The drenching storm that triggered the disaster has now cleared, giving way to sunny skies, as searchers worked carefully in a landscape strewn with hazards.
“We’ve gotten multiple reports of rescuers falling through manholes that were covered with mud, swimming pools that were covered up with mud,” said Anthony Buzzerio, a Los Angeles County fire battalion chief.
“The mud is acting like a candy shell on ice cream. It’s crusty on top but soft underneath, so we’re having to be very careful.”
Fifteen people were confirmed dead and two dozen people remained missing, said Amber Anderson, a Santa Barbara County spokeswoman.
“We have no idea where they’re at. We think somewhere in the debris field,” she said.
For hours on Wednesday a team of 14 firefighters and six dogs searched the debris field, which was spread over 50 sq km but found nobody, dead or alive. Twenty people remained hospitalised, four in critical condition.
The deluge destroyed 100 houses and damaged 300 others, Santa Barbara County authorities said. Eight commercial properties were destroyed and 20 damaged.
Ms Weimer’s parents, Jim and Alice Mitchell, didn’t heed a voluntary evacuation warning and had decided to stay home Monday to celebrate her father’s 89th birthday. She hoped to find them in a shelter or hospital.
“They’re an adorable couple, and they were in love with their house. That’s their forever home,” Ms Weimer said.
Another storm-related death was reported in Northern California, where a man was killed when his car was apparently struck by falling rocks in a landslide Tuesday evening in Napa County.
AP
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