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Atmospheric River Batters Southern California as Emergencies, Evacuations and Power Outages Mount

A moisture-laden atmospheric river is striking burn‑scarred hillsides that are primed for dangerous debris flows.

Overview

  • Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency across multiple counties, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Shasta.
  • Los Angeles authorities issued evacuation orders and warnings for hundreds of properties and opened shelters as crews prepared for flash floods and mudflows.
  • The National Weather Service warned of life‑threatening flooding, landslides and debris flows with locally more than 25 to 30 centimeters of rain and heavy Sierra Nevada snow.
  • More than 125,000 customers lost power at times, major roads were closed and a brief tornado warning in Los Angeles was later withdrawn.
  • At least two storm‑related deaths were reported as officials cautioned that the risk of additional flooding and slope failures will persist through Friday.