California storm: Montecito residents told to evacuate
An emergency declaration has been issued for California after the state was hit by a deadly storm, with power cuts, flooding and more rainfall on the way.
Residents of Montecito – an elite coastal enclave have been ordered to evacuate amid the major storm – which has most of California under flood watch.
Forecasters are warning Californians to brace for a “relentless parade of cyclones” over the next week.
So far, at least 12 people are confirmed dead.
As of Monday afternoon, more than 100,000 people were still without power and around 90% of Californians – some 34 million people – were under flood watch.
“We expect to see the worst of it still ahead of us,” Governor Gavin Newsom said at a news conference. “Don’t test fate.”
Montecito residents told ‘leave now!’
The Montecito Fire Department told residents of Montecito and nearby canyons: “Leave now!” – an order issued late on Monday.
The decision to order an evacuation was “based on the continuing high rate of rainfall with no indication that that is going to change before nightfall”, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said.
Those unable to flee are being told to move to their innermost room or high ground.
The US National Weather Service (NWS) reported that up to 8in of rain had already fallen over 12 hours in the region.
Montecito is best known for being the home to many Hollywood stars – Rob Lowe, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are just some of the big names in the area.
Ellen posted a video from the banks of a flooded creek on Monday. “This creek next to our house never flows, ever. It’s probably about nine feet up and is going to go another two feet up.”
The evacuation came on the fifth anniversary of a mudslide in Montecito that killed 23 people and destroyed more than 100 homes.
The latest severe weather will bring heavy rain on already flooded rivers, strong winds that will likely topple trees and power lines and heavy snow in the California mountains.
