At least seven lives lost as California battered by storm of biblical proportions.
A devastating atmospheric river storm swept through California, leaving a trail of destruction and death in its wake. The powerful system, which brought with it waves estimated to be as high as 20ft, claimed the life of a young girl who was caught in the ocean at a state beach on Friday. Her father, Yuji Hu, 39, lost his life while trying to rescue her.
The storm's fury extended far beyond the coast, with a 71-year-old man succumbing to injuries sustained when his vehicle was swept off a flooded bridge in Sutter County, north of Sacramento. In a separate incident, a wooden boat carrying migrants from Mexico capsized off the coast of San Diego, leaving at least four people dead and four more hospitalized.
The storm's impact on southern California was particularly severe, with downtown LA seeing record-breaking rainfall that broke the previous November high in 1985. The Los Angeles Times reported that over 4in of rain fell in coastal Santa Barbara County, while parts of the Sierra Nevada received a foot or more of snow.
As the system moved through the state, authorities warned of the ongoing risk of mudslides and flooding, particularly in areas ravaged by wildfires in recent months. "Due to the abundant rainfall the past couple of days, it will not take as much rainfall to cause additional flooding/rockslide conditions," cautioned the National Weather Service.
The storm's impact is being felt far beyond California's borders, with scientists warning that warming oceans are making such atmospheric river storms deadlier and more destructive. With climate change on the rise, the nation is grappling with the consequences of these increasingly intense weather events.
A devastating atmospheric river storm swept through California, leaving a trail of destruction and death in its wake. The powerful system, which brought with it waves estimated to be as high as 20ft, claimed the life of a young girl who was caught in the ocean at a state beach on Friday. Her father, Yuji Hu, 39, lost his life while trying to rescue her.
The storm's fury extended far beyond the coast, with a 71-year-old man succumbing to injuries sustained when his vehicle was swept off a flooded bridge in Sutter County, north of Sacramento. In a separate incident, a wooden boat carrying migrants from Mexico capsized off the coast of San Diego, leaving at least four people dead and four more hospitalized.
The storm's impact on southern California was particularly severe, with downtown LA seeing record-breaking rainfall that broke the previous November high in 1985. The Los Angeles Times reported that over 4in of rain fell in coastal Santa Barbara County, while parts of the Sierra Nevada received a foot or more of snow.
As the system moved through the state, authorities warned of the ongoing risk of mudslides and flooding, particularly in areas ravaged by wildfires in recent months. "Due to the abundant rainfall the past couple of days, it will not take as much rainfall to cause additional flooding/rockslide conditions," cautioned the National Weather Service.
The storm's impact is being felt far beyond California's borders, with scientists warning that warming oceans are making such atmospheric river storms deadlier and more destructive. With climate change on the rise, the nation is grappling with the consequences of these increasingly intense weather events.
I'm so sad to hear about all those lives lost in California. It's like, we've been warned about the impacts of climate change for ages, and now it's hitting us hard. The fact that warming oceans are making these atmospheric river storms more deadly is just heartbreaking 
. We need to take care of our planet, you know? Every little thing counts - reducing our carbon footprint, conserving water, planting trees... it all adds up! 
can't believe what's happening in Cali, people r losing their lives left & right because of this crazy storm!! 
20ft waves, flooding, landslides... it's like something outta a movie! 
I feel so bad for the young girl who got caught in the ocean with her dad, RIP 
. And those migrants in the wooden boat? What were they even doing here?! 
Anywayz, climate change is real and we gotta take it serious, more extreme weather events are gonna keep hitting us if we don't do somethin about it 
And that wooden boat incident? How do you even... it's like nature just isn't being kind anymore.
we gotta take care of our planet, ya know? but at the same time, i feel bad for the migrants who lost their lives in that capsized boat 
it's like they were trying to escape and now they're fighting for survival all over again. my heart goes out to them and their families 
i'm so sorry for the families who lost loved ones... it's just devastating. and the fact that climate change is making these storms even worse is just heartbreaking 
. Anyway, hope everyone affected by this storm can recover soon... 
it's like, we can't even predict what's gonna happen next with all this crazy weather. I just hope everyone stays safe out there 
.
. It's like they say, "you can't predict the unpredictable"... but we need to try! We need to take care of our planet and make sure we're not causing this kind of destruction. 
the fact that four people died in that boat capsizing incident is just heartbreaking 