Complete catastrophe, dead reported; Citizens urgently warned: Get ready VIDEO

Flash flood warnings are also in effect near Los Angeles, as well as avalanche and landslide warnings in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. So far, the severe weather has claimed three lives. Around 100,000 people in California were left without power last night, the BBC reported today.

Waves near the San Francisco Bay could reach heights of up to 7.6 meters today. Parts of Southern California remain at risk of flooding, and avalanches could affect the Lake Tahoe area, officials warned, according to AP.

 

Residents have been told to be prepared to evacuate from the mountain town of Wrightwood, about 130 kilometers northeast of Los Angeles, due to landslides.

Storms have been blamed for at least two deaths earlier this week, local authorities said. A 64-year-old man from San Diego died early Wednesday local time after a tree fell on him, marking the third storm-related fatality linked to the severe weather that hit Southern California during the Christmas holidays, San Diego police said, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Earlier, a 74-year-old person died in flooding while police were attempting to rescue them from a vehicle in Redding, the city’s mayor told local media.

A woman in her 70s was also killed when she was swept away by a large wave, struck rocks, and drowned in Mendocino County, the sheriff’s office said.

The National Weather Service said the storm system brought the wettest Christmas season in the Los Angeles area in the past 54 years.

California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Shasta to enable state assistance.

The state has deployed resources and first responders to several coastal areas and counties in Southern California, while the California National Guard has been placed on standby.