Flood watch in effect for Orange County as storm sweeps through
By KCAL KCBS Staff
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ORANGE COUNTY (KCAL, KCBS) — Another powerful storm arrived over the Southland Tuesday, with heavy rain and gusty winds across the region and raising fears of localized flooding.
A flood watch is in effect for Orange County, including the Santa Ana Mountains, from 5 p.m. Tuesday until 2 p.m. Wednesday.
There were concerns about houses on cliffs in Newport Beach as the soil moistened from the rain. Multiple houses were red-tagged or yellow-tagged meaning they were at risk if a mudslide occurs.
Experts drilled about 20 feet into hillsides to extract water and try to save homes preemptively. The machines pulled out approximately 3 gallons of water per minute from the ground.
Pipes and pumps were still vacuuming water out of the hillside on Galaxy Drive in Newport Beach above the Back Bay Nature Preserve Wednesday morning. At least one home is red-tagged and neighboring houses are yellow-tagged due to the unstable hillside. Officials said the land continues to move as of Wednesday.
A mudslide prompted the full closure of Pacific Coast Highway from Beach Road south to Camino Capistrano in Dana Point early Wednesday morning.
About 5:15 a.m. Wednesday, a chunk of hillside came sliding down onto the roadway at Capistrano Beach in Dana Point. No homes were reported in danger.
Storm drains were blocked and the roadway was flooded, in addition to the mud and debris blockage from the slide.
There was no estimated time of reopening Wednesday morning.
Although the storm will be particularly wet, forecasters said the snow level will remain above 8,000 feet, with little to no accumulations anticipated.
Dry weather is expected to return Wednesday night through Thursday night, with another smaller system sliding into the area by Friday and lasting into the weekend, although the bulk of that storm will likely remain to the north, resulting in a mostly dry but cool weekend.
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