A โคpowerful Pacific storm is โbringing the threatโ of life-threatening flooding, dangerous debrisโค flows, and power outages to much of Southern California through โขSunday.A floodโฃ watch remains โin effectโ for the Los Angeles area until Saturday night, with continued โrain expected into Sunday keeping the ground saturated and vulnerable.
The storm poses a particularlyโค high risk to areas recently burned by โคwildfires, where โvegetation loss andโ altered soil โconditions dramatically increase the potential for landslides and debris flows. Evacuation โordersโ are โcurrently in effect for portionsโ of โขthe palisades, Hurst, and Sunset areas,โข and theโฃ National Weather Service (NWS) has warned that the Eaton and Bridge areas also โface a โmeaningful threat. โค
The NWS warns the storm could cause โคdangerous debris flows, power outages and road flooding. โขAreas affected โขby recent forest fires are particularly โvulnerable to landslides and debris flows because wildfires โคdestroy vegetation that normally absorbs rainfall and the โฃextreme โขheat can create an impermeable layer beneath โthe โsoil surface.
Evacuationโค orders are in effect throughโ sunday morning for parts ofโ the Palisades,Hurst andโข Sunset areas,but these are not the only locations at risk. The NWS in Los Angeles cautioned Friday that โparts of the Eatonโ and โBridge โขareas also โคpose aโข highโ threat ofโฃ “significant” debrisโ flows.
while the heaviest rainfall is expected to subside by the end of Saturday, โขthe risk will not immediately dissipate. Lingering rain through sunday, combined with already saturated ground, means even minor rainfall could trigger flooding and hazardous road conditions, particularly inโ areas with poor drainage.