California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for eight counties in the south of the state on Sunday due to winter storms.
The declaration, which affects the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura, allows the deployment of resources and the use of the California National Guard to address the emergency.
The storm, which began on Saturday and is expected to last until Monday, has brought torrential rain, hurricane-force winds, thunderstorms, as well as brief tornadoes, said the National Weather Service (NWS) in Los Angeles.
The NWS has issued a flood watch for the entire Los Angeles metropolitan region, in addition to warnings of strong winds of up to 100 kilometers per hour for almost 30 million people in inland areas throughout most of the state.
The foothills and mountains could have wind gusts of around 150 km/h, making visibility and traffic difficult.
More than half a million California customers were without power after the storm, according to the website PowerOutage.us, which monitors power outages across the country.
The passage of the storm has also caused several incidents and rescues, such as that of 19 people who were rescued off the coast of Long Beach, after the mast of a sailboat broke due to strong winds, CNN reported.
At a press conference, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the storm “a serious weather event” and asked citizens to stay safe and follow the recommendations of authorities.
“This has the potential to be a historic storm: strong winds, thunderstorms and even brief tornadoes,” Bass stated.
The mayor also reported that several shelters have been set up for people who need temporary accommodation, especially those who live in areas prone to flooding or that have been affected by recent forest fires.
The NWS also warned that the storm could leave “historic” records of accumulated rain of more than 15 centimeters in some areas.
“Given the large amounts of rainfall expected in the period, 3-6 hour rainfall rates could be problematic, potentially leading to mud and debris flow issues as well as rapid water overflows into local rivers and streams.” The NWS added in a statement.
The agency also recommended residents stay away from running water, not drive on flooded roads and be alert for possible landslides.
With information from EFE / CNN / PowerOutage.us