FLASH FLOOD EMERGENCY Declared Across Southern California
Eight Southern California counties are under a state of emergency as relentless heavy rain triggers flash flooding, evacuations, and life-threatening conditions, with flood warnings issued for Los Angeles and surrounding areas through early Thursday. Forecasters warn additional rainfall on Christmas Day, driven by powerful atmospheric rivers, could bring mudslides and debris flows, especially in wildfire-scarred regions of Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties, where saturated and burned terrain is unable to absorb the water.