Southern California sees ‘life-threatening’ flooding from atmospheric river: Updates

Three people have now been confirmed to have died due to falling trees caused by the ongoing California storms.

Governor Gavin Newsom has announced a state of emergency for eight counties, which include Los Angeles and San Diego.

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Two Disney parks in Anaheim will close early again today due to the inclement weather, park officials have said.

Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park closed an hour early on Sunday, at 10pm and 9pm respectively.

Both will be closed at 8pm on Monday, due to ongoing concerns about public safety.

Los Angeles Firefighters have responded to over 130 flooding incidents and 49 mud and debris flows, since the outbreak of the storms in California, the LAFD Chief Kristin M. Crowley has said.

Teams have also extinguished half a dozen structure fires, and conducted several water rescues for stranded motorists, and responded to over 65 traffic collisions, as severe conditions continue to batter the west coast.

Ms Crowley said on Monday that “the hazards of this storm have not passed” and said the city is anticipating “another wave of heavy rain this afternoon.”

A 41-year-old man, killed in Sacramento County yesterday after a tree fell on him during the ongoing storms on the West Coast has been named as 41-year-old Chad Ensey.

Mr Ensey of Carmichael died at his home due to blunt force injuries, a spokesperson for the county said, per ABC10.

This is the third weather-related death in California connected to the storms. Elswhere on Sunday, a tree also fell onto a home in Boulder Creek, California, and killed one of the residents inside.

Police were also called to a home in Yuba City on Sunday evening in response to reports that a tree had fallen on a person, the Yuba City Police Department said in a Facebook post.

Officers who arrived at the address found a man “lying underneath a very large redwood tree in his backyard.” Emergency responders attempted lifesaving measures, but were unable to revive him.

Law enforcement officials identified the deceased man to ABC 10 as David Gomes, 82.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said that an “extensive” river search by ground and air had taken place on Monday morning, following reports of a six-year-old male in need, but that no victim had been located.

The incident was reported in Arleta, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the city.

“After an extensive search of the flood control channel (which has 10-12 feet of water flowing at approximately 15mph) by ground and air, no victim has been located,” a statement from the LAFD said.

“Crews have searched up and down the river from Arleta to Downtown LA, and beyond (LA County FD responded to search beyond the LA City limits). Fire crews were never able to visually confirm a victim was in the water. Crews are picking up and clearing the incident.

Seven homes in the affluent area of Beverly Hills were evacuated on Monday morning after debris flow caused damage.

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, six adults and nine children were helped from the homes after becoming stranded. Six of the homes were damaged and one was “threatened”, the force said.

The LAFD reported previously that no one was trapped by the debris flow and that the Department of Building and Safety had been notified to assess and red tag any seriously compromised structures.

An 82-year-old man was killed by a falling redwood tree amid dangerous storms in California.

Police were called to a home in Yuba City on Sunday evening in response to reports that a tree had fallen on a person, the Yuba City Police Department said in a Facebook post.

At least two people have died as the second atmospheric river weather system continues to savage the state.

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“Life threatening landslides and additional flash flooding expected overnight tonight,” NWS officials posted on X. “Avoid travel if at all possible.”

Forecasters warned earlier this week the rain would peak Sunday into early Monday morning, causing much worse conditions than the Pineapple Express storm that passed through the state early last week.

On Monday morning Santa Barbara Airport announced it would remain closed due to “significant flooding”, with crews working hard to clean impacted areas.

A statement on the airport website said it would be closed “until further notice”.

On Sunday it was announced that all commercial flights from the airport had been canceled, with private and general aviation operations also paused. The terminal was closed until further notice.

“Updates will be shared on SBA’s website and social channels as the situation develops. For information about specific flights, please contact your airline directly,” the statement said.

The extreme weather has also affected flights at Burbank airport and LAX with 59 departures and 20 arrivals reportedly delayed at the latter, according to the airport’s website.