Pacific storm douses California, flooding roads, in first of one-two punch
LOS ANGELES – The first in a one-two punch of atmospheric river storms soaked Southern California with drenching rains on Thursday, triggering scattered flooding and rush-hour road closures in a precursor to a larger, wetter blast expected to sweep ashore over the weekend.
The city of Long Beach, just south of Los Angeles, was one of the hardest-hit areas, with rainwater flooding a stretch of freeway and adjacent streets beneath a railroad bridge, leaving several vehicles submerged up to their roofs.
At least one motorist, Franklin Capitulo, 54, a hotel employee who was driving home from work, had to be rescued after his car stalled in the middle of an inundated roadway, leaving him trapped in his vehicle as water steadily rose around him.
“I ran into this water, but I didn’t expect it was that deep already,” said Mr Capitulo, recounting that he grew panicky and called his brother for help, and was ultimately pulled through a window by firefighters who arrived at the scene.
Flooding, mud flows and rock slides forced the closure of numerous other roads across the region, including a busy tunnel passage that connects Pacific Coast Highway with a freeway in Santa Monica and a major freeway on-ramp in LA’s San Fernando
Valley. The California Highway Patrol reported at least 50 spinouts and crashes in central Los Angeles Thursday morning, and firefighters rescued a man trapped in an Orange County flood-control channel, according to the Los Angeles City News Service.
A flash-flood warning was posted for Los Angeles County and flood advisories were issued for San Diego and Orange counties.
But the storm’s centre passed through the region fairly swiftly, minimising flood threats, the National Weather Service reported.