California 'weather bomb': at least three dead as torrential rain hits state

Saturday 18 February 2017 21.33 EST from The Guardian

More than 300 LA flights cancelled and hundreds of homes evacuated over mud slide fears in one of state’s strongest storms in years

A firefighter carries a woman from her car after it was caught in street flooding. 

Photograph: David McNew/Getty Images

At least three people have died after one of California’s strongest storms in years brought torrential rain and flash floods to the state.

More than 100 homes have been evacuated over fears of mud slides near Los Angeles after the pacific storm, dubbed a “bombogenesis” or “weather bomb”, parked itself over southern California, opening sinkholes and cutting power to thousands of people.

More than 300 flights at Los Angeles international airport have also been cancelled or delayed. The storm stretched far out into the ocean and was at its strongest late on Friday afternoon. It is expected to last until Saturday afternoon.
One man was found dead in a submerged vehicle in the desert town of Victorville after several cars were washed down a flooded street, San Bernardino county fire spokesman Eric Sherwin said.

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