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An already drenched California was inundated with even more rain Tuesday as yet another storm pummeled the Golden State, flooding roads, triggering mudslides and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people.

The National Weather Service warned rain was expected to continue through Tuesday after dumping up to 14 inches in central and Southern California.

After a brief lull, another storm was expected to slam the state in a few days’ time, saturating areas already on the verge of flooding.

Cellphone videos shared online by residents documented the chaos that was wrought by the latest storm, with trees being felled by mudflows, water from a swollen creek rushing through a neighborhood, and a man paddleboarding in the middle of a flooded street.


  A flooded house partially underwater in Gilroy, California, on Monday after the latest storm slammed the saturated state. AFP via Getty Images A flooded house partially underwater in Gilroy, California, on Monday after the latest storm slammed the saturated state. AFP via Getty Images

  A tree fell on a Honda in Los Angeles Monday during a devastating storm that triggered mudslides and flooding. Ted Soqui/Sipa USA A tree fell on a Honda in Los Angeles Monday during a devastating storm that triggered mudslides and flooding. Ted Soqui/Sipa USA

  A pier is split in Capitola, California. AFP via Getty Images A pier is split in Capitola, California. AFP via Getty Images

The death toll from the string of storms that began last week climbed to 14 Monday, after two people, including a homeless person, were killed by falling trees, state officials said.

A 5-year-old boy vanished in floodwaters on the central coast. The boy’s mother was driving a truck when it became stranded in floodwaters near Paso Robles.

Bystanders managed to pull her free but the child was swept out of the truck and carried away, probably into a river, said Tom Swanson, assistant chief of the Cal Fire/San Luis Obispo County Fire Department.

A roughly seven-hour search for the missing boy, who was not named, turned up only his shoe before officials called it off as water levels were too dangerous for divers, officials said. The boy had not been declared dead.

The weather service issued a flood watch through Tuesday for the entire San Francisco Bay Area, along with the Sacramento Valley and Monterey Bay. Areas hit by wildfires in recent years faced the possibility of mud and debris slewing off hillsides devoid of vegetation.

“Additional heavy rains on Tuesday will exacerbate ongoing flooding and continue the risk of flash flooding and mudslides, especially across recent burn scar regions,” the weather service said.


  Both lanes of Glenwood Road off Highway 17 near Scotts Valley, California, were washed out by heavy rain. ZUMAPRESS.com Both lanes of Glenwood Road off Highway 17 near Scotts Valley, California, were washed out by heavy rain. ZUMAPRESS.com

  A man paddleboards on a flooded residential street in Goleta, California. Twitter / @DominosJoe A man paddleboards on a flooded residential street in Goleta, California. Twitter / @DominosJoe

  Floodwaters rush through a street in the affluent seaside enclave of Montecito, California, which is home to many A-listers, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Twitter / @ShapeOfRain Floodwaters rush through a street in the affluent seaside enclave of Montecito, California, which is home to many A-listers, including Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Twitter / @ShapeOfRain

  A home partially underwater in Gilroy, California. Even more rain was expected Tuesday. AFP via Getty Images A home partially underwater in Gilroy, California. Even more rain was expected Tuesday. AFP via Getty Images

Forecasters also warned southwestern California could see 60-mph wind gusts at the peak of the storm, while some areas could receive rainfall of a half-inch per hour.

Evacuation orders were issued in Santa Cruz County for about 32,000 residents living near rain-swollen rivers and creeks. The San Lorenzo River was declared at flood stage and drone footage showed numerous homes sitting in muddy brown water, the top halves of cars peeking out.

About 130 miles to the south, about 10,000 people were ordered to evacuate in Santa Barbara County.

The entire wealthy seaside community of Montecito — home to the likes of Prince Harry, Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres and Jennifer Aniston — was ordered to flee on the fifth anniversary of a mudslide that killed 23 people and destroyed more than 100 homes in the exclusive enclave.

“This is crazy,” DeGeneres said in a video she recorded while standing next to a raging creek flowing past her house, which she shares with her wife, Portia de Rossi. “We need to be nicer to Mother Nature because Mother Nature’s not happy with us.”


  Mudflows and powerful winds felled trees and triggered power outages in central and Southern California. Twitter / @ShapeOfRain Mudflows and powerful winds felled trees and triggered power outages in central and Southern California. Twitter / @ShapeOfRain

  Highway 9 in Ben Lomond, Calif., after the most recent storm on January 9. Casey Flanigan/imageSPACE/Shutte Highway 9 in Ben Lomond, Calif., after the most recent storm on January 9. Casey Flanigan/imageSPACE/Shutte

  Ellen DeGeneres was ordered to shelter in place at her home in Montecito due to the storm. Ellen DeGeneres Ellen DeGeneres was ordered to shelter in place at her home in Montecito due to the storm. Ellen DeGeneres

The TV host and her spouse were sheltering in place on the orders of local officials Monday because their house is on higher ground.

County officials ordered 20 homes evacuated in the area of Orcutt after flooding and a sinkhole damaged up to 15 homes.

Jamie McLeod’s property was under the Montecito evacuation order, but she said there was no way for her to “get off the mountain” with a rushing creek on one side and a mudslide on the other.

The 60-year-old owner of the Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary said one of her employees came to make a weekly food delivery and also became stuck.

McLeod said she feels fortunate because her home sits on high ground and the power is still on. But she tires of the frequent evacuation orders since the massive wildfire followed by the deadly landslide five years ago.

“It is not easy to relocate,” McLeod said. “I totally love it, except in catastrophe.”

Some miles down the coast, another town, La Conchita in Ventura County, was ordered evacuated. A mudslide killed 10 people there in 2005.

In Ventura County, the Ventura River reached its highest level on record at more than 25 feet. Firefighters using a ladder and rope system, boats and helicopters rescued more than a dozen people from a homeless encampment who found themselves trapped on an island in the surging waters.

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A parade of floods has killed14 people in California.
A parade of floods has killed 14 people in California.AFP via Getty Images
A truck drives through a flooded section of road in Forestville, California.
A truck drives through a flooded section of road in Forestville, California.Getty Images
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A tree was ripped from a yard in the Sacramento area during the latest round of deadly storms.
A tree was ripped from a yard in the Sacramento area during the latest round of deadly storms. @PGE_Mayra
The 101 Freeway is seen flooded out as a result of San Ysidro Creek overflowing due to heavy rainfall in the area.
The 101 Freeway is seen flooded out as a result of San Ysidro Creek overflowing due to heavy rainfall in the area.AFP via Getty Images
People carrying their belongings arrive at an evacuation center in Santa Barbara after being ordered to leave their homes.
People carrying their belongings arrive at an evacuation center in Santa Barbara after being ordered to leave their homes.AP
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The storm-swollen San Lorenzo River floods land along Ocean Street Extension in Santa Cruz.
The storm-swollen San Lorenzo River floods land along Ocean Street Extension in Santa Cruz.AP
A grove of trees is seen mostly underwater in Gilroy, California, after heavy rain.
A grove of trees is seen mostly underwater in Gilroy, California, after heavy rain.AFP via Getty Images
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The storm also washed 3 feet of mud and rock onto State Highway 126, stranding a long line of cars and big-rig trucks. Crews worked into the night to pull them free.

In Los Angeles, a sinkhole swallowed two cars in the Chatsworth area Monday night. Two people escaped by themselves and firefighters rescued two others who had minor injuries, authorities said.

Tens of thousands of people were without power, including some 17,000 late Monday in the Sacramento area. The number of customers without service was down from more than 350,000 a day earlier after 60-mph gusts knocked trees into power lines, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District said.

The National Weather Service warned of a “relentless parade of atmospheric rivers” — long plumes of moisture stretching out into the Pacific that can drop staggering amounts of rain and snow.

The precipitation expected over the next couple of days comes after storms last week knocked out power, flooded streets and battered the coastline.

President Biden issued an emergency declaration Monday to support storm response and relief efforts in more than a dozen counties.

With Post wires

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