Cars swallowed into the ground as sinkhole opens up amid torrential California rains
11 January 2023, 14:27
Cars have collapsed into the ground as sinkholes opened up in California amid torrential rains and deadly flooding.
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Four people had to be rescued from their cars in Los Angeles, after getting trapped in the sinkholes in Chatsworth, an LA suburb.
Storms have caused chaos in California since Boxing Day, with millions of people across the state affected by the floods, and hundreds of thousands without power. Some 17 people, including a five-year-old boy, have been killed.
Even Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were told to evacuate their flood-threatened Montecito mansion north-west of Los Angeles, although the flood warning there has since been rescinded.
More storms are expected later on Wednesday in northern California, with further torrential rain to come from Friday to Tuesday next week.
The seven-hour search for the missing five-year-old boy, identified as Kyle Doan, was called off on Tuesday night, with the only thing to could be recovered being his shoe.
He was swept away in rising flood waters when the truck he was in with his mother became stuck amid the heavy downpour in Paso Robles, a small city in central California.
His mother was hauled out by rescuers but he was pulled away by the torrent into a nearby river.
Two others were killed on Tuesday when lightning felled a tree onto a road in San Joaquin valley, leading to a pile-up.
Chat show host Ellen DeGeneres posted a video of the flooding outside her house in California.
"This is crazy," she said. "We are having unprecedented rain. This creek near to our house never flows ever [and it's] probably about 9ft up.
"It could go another 2ft up. We have horses ready to evacuate. We need to be nicer to Mother Nature, because Mother Nature is not happy with us."
California's large homeless population, many of whom live in tents in major cities, have also been hit hard by the floods, with at least one person dying.
Theo Harris, who has lived on the streets in Los Angeles since 2016, took his girlfriend to live with him after her tent flooded, Sky News reported.
Read more: Harry and Meghan ordered to evacuate Montecito mansion amid deadly California floods
He said: "The wind has been treacherous, but you just got to bundle up and make sure you stay dry.
"Rain is part of life. It's going to be sunny. It's going to rain. I just got to strap my boots up and not give up."
