By
The Associated Press
Multiple families had to abandon their residences in buildings located on a hill facing the sea in San Clemente (California) this Friday, due to the danger that the houses would fall off the cliff.
Authorities evacuated about 30 residents from four buildings perched on a bluff on the Orange County coast after
a mudslide washed their backyards off the cliff following torrential rains that have battered much of the state.
Authorities have warned that they may not be allowed to return for some time, pending an investigation into when it will be safe to return.
Image taken with a drone of a house in San Clemente, California, affected by a mudslide, on March 16, 2023. Jae C. Hong / AP
“I think everyone should understand that we have a changing situation here,” Mayor Chris Duncan explained during a press conference.
"Another storm is coming, the ground continues to move, so these structures are still in danger
. "
The National Weather Service indicated that heavy rains could hit southern California again early next week.
[Flood breaks California river dam, evacuates more than 1,500 in Latino farming community]
Between 20 and 30 residents were evacuated from their homes.
Some were allowed to return Thursday to remove their belongings.
Aerial view of one of the affected houses. Jae C. Hong / AP
Orange County was included in the presidential emergency declaration for areas severely affected by natural disasters.
Some 35 of California's 58 counties are now covered by that declaration, which authorizes federal assistance to help state and local governments weather a series of ferocious winter storms.
California has been battered by 11 atmospheric rivers in a nearly non-stop cycle, causing flooding and mudslides, downing trees, stranding mountain dwellers in historically deep snow, and downing power lines, causing thousands of people to become homeless. they will be without electricity.
A residential swimming pool was left on the edge of a cliff after a landslide in San Clemente, California. Jae C. Hong / AP
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said
storm damage has exceeded $4 million
and that number will increase.
Local media reported that a 30-foot (9.14-meter) deep sinkhole opened Wednesday night along with another that was recorded in 2019 after heavy rains in the city of La Habra.
Repairs to the first hole have not yet been completed.
Some Southern California beaches were closed
because heavy rains overwhelmed sewer systems and sent thousands of gallons of raw sewage out to sea.
View of the mudslide in San Clemente, California, which threatens to throw multiple homes off the cliff.
Photo from March 16, 2023. Jae C. Hong / AP
Ventura County closed beaches near the Santa Clara River after a sewer pipe dumped about 148,000 gallons of sewage into the waterway, which empties into the Pacific Ocean.
The measure was expected to stay in place through the weekend or until tests showed the bacteria levels were safe.