A powerful storm is bringing heavy rainfall to Southern California this weekend, and it is already starting to cause some damage and minor flooding.
Debris flows and small rock slides were seen in the Malibu and Pacific Palisades areas Saturday morning. Caltrans, shortly before 12:30 p.m., issued an advisory stating that crews along Topanga Canyon Road had noted “several minor debris flows as well as locations where small-to-medium-sized rocks had fallen onto the highway from slopes throughout the work zone.”
The road, which was already closed, will remain shut down until the storm is over. In the meantime, those living in coastal L.A. County are urged to “seek higher ground.”
Some flooding was seen near the Palisades Fire burn scar and construction areas. Evacuation warnings have been issued for virtually all local burn scar areas, including the Canyon, Bethany, Eaton, Palisades, Hurst, Kenneth, Sunset, Lidia, Franklin, Bridge, Agua, Owen, Land and Fish burn scar zones.
Evacuation orders remain in place for select high-risk properties within those burn areas through early Sunday.
In the San Fernando Valley, the storm caused a tree to topple over and crush a vehicle in the Lake Balboa area.
Some minor flooding was seen on the 118 Freeway and on several surface streets early Saturday as the storm continued to dump steady rainfall.
In West L.A., Loyola Marymount University was without power as of early Saturday morning, with school officials advising the campus community to stay out of elevators and be on the lookout for further information. There were also reports of other power outages in the area surrounding the school, including parts of Playa Vista.
In Pasadena, authorities advised that sinkholes along Edgewood Drive had caused the road to be shut down early Saturday afternoon. Nearby communities in the Eaton Fire burn scar area are under an evacuation warning.
Further east in the Inland Empire, drivers in Rialto were seen navigating through significant puddles of water to get to their destinations. Multiple I.E. freeways began to see minor flooding Saturday, with puddles growing constantly as the rain continued.
Evacuation warnings are also in effect for burn scar areas in this region.
The strong November storm drenching SoCal this weekend is set to make its way out of the area by the beginning of next week.
