California Mudslides Leave Thousands Stranded, One Dead
Major thunderstorms in Southern California have caused mudslides that are "the worst we've had since at least 1969," according to resident Michael Scully. At least 2,500 people have been stranded since Sunday, and one person has died.
According to CNN, the entire town of Forest Falls has been cut off by the mudslides. About 500 adults and children are trapped at a church camp in the area. San Bernardino Fire Capt. Kyle Hauducoeur says, "Most roads are impassable due to mudflow. There is no other way out of there. It's basically like a dead-end slot canyon."
From CNN:
...elsewhere in San Bernardino County, one person was found dead inside a vehicle that was swept off the road and into a creek by floodwater, county fire department spokesman Chris Prater said.
And 1,500 people in the nearby community of Glen Oak were stranded due to flash flooding, said Dennis Mathisen of Cal Fire.
"Try to imagine the bands of rains from a hurricane—that's what we're getting," Hauducoeur said, adding that some roads were covered with eight feet of rocks. "The difference (is) it's hitting mountains. What was a dry riverbed could become a river 6 feet deep, 20 feet wide."
[Image via AP]