Man runs from huge mudslide swamping restaurant car park: 'Get out of here'
A man has been filmed running for his life as a giant mudslide inundates a Californian car park.
Video shows the man jumping from a fence as he sees the thick deluge approaching at great speed.
“Get out of here” he yells, warning others in the car park seconds before the sludge smashes through the fence.
Filmed on Monday (local time) in the tiny apple farming village of Oak Glen, east of Hollywood, the eyewitness video resembles something out of a horror film.
Sirens wail in the distance as the man behind the camera runs into a vehicle. He continues to film as a torrent of thick brown mud pours past a sign advertising a saloon and steakhouse.
A local politician shared an image of the incident on social media, adding the car park was ultimately filled with “several feet of mud”.
Evacuation orders across California towns
Police subsequently issued evacuation orders due to concern about “mud and debris flow” for residents of several nearby communities.
Roads have been closed in several areas due to flash flooding, and despite a couple being rescued after becoming trapped in their car, no injuries have so far been reported.
There are reports structures were damaged at nearby Forest Falls following mudslides, and fire crews are continuing to search for potential victims.
Severe fires continue to burn across United States
Before the mudslide, authorities issued a flash-flooding warning for towns within San Bernardino County and Riverside County, where locals are still cleaning up after Tropical Storm Kay which hit the region on Friday.
The powerful weather event, which drenched large parts of California had been initially welcomed by crews who were battling a large fire 42km east in Riverside County.
Ahead of the rains, the blaze known as the Fairview Fire had destroyed 11,000 hectares, but it is just one of many severe fires threatening parts of California.
Around 740km north in Sacramento, the Mosquito Fire has burned 13,000 hectares. It has continued to burn despite cooler conditions on Saturday.
Images shared by the European Union’s Copernicus satellite, show large parts of the West Coast of the US and southwestern Canada covered by massive clouds of smoke.
As the effects of climate change continue to be felt across the globe, more intense and severe weather systems, heatwaves and storms will continue to put human life at risk.
with Reuters
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