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Raised water in the Los Angeles River: “The most violent storm of the season”

Photo: Aude Guerrucci / REUTERS

A massive so-called Pineapple Express storm hit Southern California on Monday. The second such weather phenomenon within a few days brought torrential rain and hurricane-like gusts of wind in the greater Los Angeles area. This increases the risk of flash floods and landslides.

It is a “serious storm with dangerous and potentially life-threatening impacts,” said Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday. He declared a state of emergency for eight counties in the southern part of the state, including Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Barbara.

According to the website PowerOutage, nearly 700,000 customers were without power early Monday morning. Air traffic was also restricted: According to the website Flightaware, dozens of flights at Los Angeles Airport were canceled or delayed.

There were initially no reports of serious damage or fatalities. At least three homes were damaged by flying debris in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Encino overnight, the fire department said, although no injuries were reported. Still, authorities advised residents to prepare for extremely dangerous conditions, particularly in Los Angeles' Hollywood Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains.

The National Weather Service (NWS) warned of the “most violent storm of the season.” This could sweep over large parts of California at speeds of up to one hundred kilometers per hour. People in the US state have to prepare for severe storms with “dangerous flooding, massive snowfall, wind gusts, coastal flooding and high surf,” the NWS warned.

Weather phenomenon from Hawaii

The heavy rains also resulted in “life-threatening flash floods” and “mudslides,” it said. The reason for the storms were violent storms over the Pacific as part of the “Pineapple Express,” a weather phenomenon that forms from warm, moist air around Hawaii. A few days ago there had been flooding in California due to such a system.

In the summer, the western United States experienced an extreme heat wave with record temperatures. The following winter has been unusually wet so far. According to experts, global warming is causing extreme weather phenomena to occur more and more frequently.

sol/AFP/Reuters