Parts of California completely drenched – the worst may be yet to come US News

California is no stranger to winter storms that bring rain and snow — especially in the mountains — but this season is unusual because of the sheer number of storms hitting the state in succession.

in southern ventura county californiaemergency services were using a blue rope to help a man pull himself out of knee-deep cement-like mud.

“I didn’t expect it to be this deep, but these kind people helped me,” said Ray, a prospector whose job it is to scour the land for mineral deposits.

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First responders use rope to help man rise from knee-deep mud

He has lived in mountain communities along the Ventura River for 25 years.

“The biggest danger is that the ground can’t absorb much water. There are huge rocky mountains everywhere and the water just piles up, and when it piles up, that’s where it comes from,” he said, pointing to the banks of the massive piles of mud and rocks.

He has been assessing the damage from the latest flood. “I often research the weather in my area and it looks like it’s going to get worse,” Ray said. “Storms like this are going to be the norm. Mother Nature could be very angry with us for polluting and destroying our incredible environment.”

The fast-moving state has been battered by relentless extreme weather in the past two weeks, killing at least 17 people, flooding homes and businesses and destroying major roads. Looking at swollen creeks and rivers, it’s hard to believe that California, too, is in the shadow of years of drought.

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The state has been battered by relentless extreme weather for the past fortnight

Tens of thousands of people were ordered to evacuate, including residents of the ultra-rich enclave of Montecito, home to Prince Harry and Meghan Meghan and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, who owns a property in town, posted a video of herself filming herself in front of a raging creek that she said is usually dry . “We need to be nice to Mother Nature,” she pleads, “because Mother Nature is not happy with us.”

All major roads into Montecito from the south were closed due to flooding, downed trees or mudslides. In the village of Casitas Springs, a man named Jason was trying to get back to his home a quarter mile down a flooded road in his pickup truck.

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Roads are closed due to severe flooding

“I’m trying to find a neighbor who was bitten by a dog,” he said. “They only had one car, so they were stuck there and we needed to get him to the hospital.

“We’re also trying to get home because we have animals there because we can’t go back and they spend the night alone. There have been severe storms before, but not for now.”

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Recent extreme weather has killed at least 17 in the state

In San Francisco, they just had 10 of the wettest days in over 150 years. Many parts of California could see another seven inches of rain over the next few days, as meteorologists called a “massive cyclone” forming along the coast.

That means the worst may be yet to come for some parts of the state that are already drenched in rain.

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