Mudslide death toll rises to 19, number missing drops to 5

Both live in Santa Barbara county, where flooding and mudslides due to rainfall have killed at least 17 people.

Search and rescue team workers walk past a destroyed property in Montecito on January 12, 2018.

“We’ve gotten multiple reports of rescuers falling through manholes that were covered with mud, swimming pools that were covered up with mud”, said Anthony Buzzerio, a Los Angeles County fire battalion chief.

The “Finding Dory” actress went on to add that she considers the area her “home”, and become emotional as she spoke about the devastation. There were just signs everywhere that said thank you and grateful just everywhere saying thank you to the firefighters and first responders.

To make matters worse, there is not much anyone can do to prevent further mudslides from occurring, according to David Peterson, a professor of forest ecology at the University of Washington.

Last month’s spate of wildfires, including the largest in California history, burned away grass and shrubs that held soil in place, and baked a waxy layer into the earth that prevents water from sinking deeply into the ground. Authorities say they need to limit people in the area so the backhoes and front-end loaders can continue digging out streets.

The latest person found dead was Joseph Bleckel, an 87-year-old who was found by a search team in his home Friday morning. NBC Los Angeles reported 13 people died and more than 20 were injured in the slides.

Barajas, owner of a Santa Barbara restaurant, Kandi Burruss survived with cuts and bruises and a sprained neck.

SIXTEEN people are dead, 24 are missing and at least 300 are trapped by devastating mudslides which oozed their way through a wealthy neighbourhood in California.

Workers are knee-deep in mud along a flooded stretch of U.S. Highway 101 in Montecito, Calif., on Saturday.

Utility trucks crowd the area around Olive Mill Road and Coast Village Road as part of the effort to restore services to flood-ravaged Montecito.

“This remains a very active search and rescue mission.”In updating the missing figure, Brown said that the precise number could fluctuate significantly”. “We’re going to do what we do”, Winfrey says. According to CNN, Ferryman wants the area cleared quickly for the public and to be deemed safe, as he wants everyone to get back to their lives after this saddening natural disaster, which has taken lives. And there are families missing, there are people who are missing family members.

Oprah Winfrey‘s estate is one of the many homes affected by the deadly mudslides in Southern California.

His two-year-old daughter, Lydia, is still missing. Many of them had ignored earlier orders to get out.

More than 1,200 workers have been deployed in the town of about 9,000 residents for the search and cleanup effort.

This photo provided by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2018 shows Morgan Corey.