Enlarge image
Flooded region in Watsonville, USA
Photo: Bronte Wittpenn / dpa
The death toll from the severe storms in California has risen to at least 17.
This was reported by Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday (local time) in a new interim report on the winter storms that have been going on for days.
The day before, Newsom assumed at least 14 dead.
The heavy storms and rain caused flash floods and landslides.
Numerous streets were flooded and trees were uprooted.
Millions of people live in the affected area;
almost 50,000 had to leave their homes.
According to the website Poweroutage.us, around 150,000 households in the west coast state were without electricity on Tuesday afternoon (local time).
"The situation is grave and deadly," Governor Newsom said.
More people have died from the storms since the New Year than in the past two years from the devastating fires.
The areas devastated by fire have largely been deforested - the water masses here increase the risk of mudslides.
According to the Los Angeles Times newspaper, two occupants of a car in the city of Bakersfield were among the fatalities.
The car crashed after a tree fell on the road.
In Paso Robles, a small town between Los Angeles and San Francisco, a five-year-old boy who was swept away by the floods has been missing since Monday.
He was still not counted among the dead.
The boy's mother was saved.
Authorities ordered the evacuation of several localities, including the small town of Montecito.
Many celebrities live in the town about 90 minutes by car south of Los Angeles on the Pacific coast, including Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, talk show legend Oprah Winfrey and actress Jennifer Aniston.
ala/dpa
