Feb. 5 (UPI) — Heavy rain pounded Southern California, reaching double-digit inch levels in some places, as an atmospheric river storm saturated the region on Monday.
Ahead of the storm, California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency Sunday for eight counties forecasters predicted would take the brunt of the system — Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura.
“This is a serious storm with dangerous and potentially life-threatening impacts,” Newsom said, urging residents to heed emergency orders and alerts from local officials.
The state mobilized what Newsom said was a “record” 8,500 state-coordinated emergency response assets to respond to landslides, flooding, travel issues and emergency calls.
Officials ordered the evacuations for part of the Topanga Canyon after nine inches of rain fell there. Evacuations were also ordered for portions of Los Angeles County, which is expected to remain in place until Tuesday.