Southern California Slammed By Storm, Causing Flooding & Mudslides
LOS ANGELES (CBSNewYork) -- Severe weather is creating water concerns in southern California this weekend.
Mudslides are burying cars and turning roads into muddy rivers.
The storm has also proven deadly, killing at least two people in the suburbs around Los Angeles.
As CBS News' Danielle Nottingham reported, the scene around southern California was scattered with uprooted trees piled onto cars and buildings, along with muddy fields and highways.
One man was electrocuted in a Los Angeles neighborhood when a tree fell onto a power line and came crashing down.
"Mother Nature came to strike," one neighbor said.
The storm packing winds of up to 80 mph began early Friday, quickly turning parking garages into waterfalls. Water rushing from the mountains also triggered mudslides.
The drenching rains were too much for the roads to handle, giving way to a 20-foot sinkhole that swallowed two cars. The first driver was rescued before the second car fell into the massive hole.
Flooded highways trapped other drivers in rising waters. One man climbed through a window to escape, another waited on the roof of his car for help. The driver in the car behind him drowned.
Air travel was also at a standstill. The Santa Barbara airport was completely flooded, and the storm forced hundreds of flight delays and cancellations through Saturday.