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Agence France-Presse

A powerful winter storm is lashing Southern California, prompting California Governor Gavin Newsom to proclaim a state of emergency in Los Angeles and neighbouring counties.
Coastal communities are bracing for multiple months’ worth of rain in just a few days, while areas charred by wildfires face the risk of mudslides.
A third person has died, according to the Los Angeles Times. Meanwhile, a flood watch was extended for most of Southern California.
The state has pre-positioned emergency response resources across the state, including 55 fire engines and 10 swift-water rescue teams, to protect communities from the dangerous winter storms, according to a statement from Newsom.
San Bernardino County firefighters said they rescued people trapped in cars on Wednesday when mud and debris rushed down a road leading into Wrightwood, a resort town in the San Gabriel Mountains about 130km (80 miles) northeast of Los Angeles. It was not immediately clear how many were rescued.

The US Weather Prediction Centre said in a forecast early on Thursday that “numerous flash flooding events are possible. In addition, many streams may flood, potentially affecting larger rivers”.
The storm is being driven by an atmospheric river known as “the Pineapple Express”, which moves heavy moisture from the tropical climes of Hawaii to rain on the West Coast.
The historic storm, which will pummel the region over the Christmas holiday until Saturday, has prompted some evacuations in Los Angeles County and Orange County canyon communities and has brought with it road closures, flooded roads and flight delays.
The first burst of heavy rain hit the region on Tuesday night, leaving Los Angeles with fallen trees and some debris in the streets, as well as minor flooding that hampered traffic.
The rainfall intensified early on Wednesday, leaving thousands of people in southern California without power due to downed lines.

Late on Wednesday the first storm moved out of the Los Angeles area, “but another storm is expected to move in later tonight into Christmas Day”, weather officials warned.
Some communities received over 25cm (10 inches) of rain in the first storm, forecasters said.
Across the state, some 80,000 homes and businesses had no electricity heading into Christmas Eve, according to tracking site Poweroutage.us.
Fire burn scars and the communities near them across the state are under special alert, including the coastal areas of Pacific Palisades and Malibu, as they are still recovering from the devastating wildfires in January.
Due to fire damage, the terrain is susceptible to mudslides from heavy rain.
While many were still hoping to drive to spend the holidays with family, transport officials were busy announcing road closures due to flooding, fallen trees and mud flows across Southern California.
The Red Cross opened shelters in several communities as some residents in Southern California received immediate evacuation orders.

Authorities were responding to a series of accidents on Wednesday, and several major roads were closed due to flash flood warnings.
Ariel Cohen, an NWS meteorologist, warned that from Wednesday afternoon until Friday, “many areas will likely experience significant flooding, along with rockslides and mudslides, especially in the higher elevations”.
“If you were planning to travel on the roads during Christmas, please reconsider your plans,” he added.
However, many Angelenos were still out and about Wednesday, buying last-minute gifts, grocery shopping, even jogging.
For some, though, Christmas travel was upended.
“We decided to stay home,” said Jim Lewis, who opted against going to his cousins in nearby Pasadena and was doing last-minute shopping in the city instead.
“We’ve been receiving all these alerts, it doesn’t feel safe, I don’t feel like driving there at dark,” he said.
Larissa Peet, who was planning a party, said her celebration was still on.
“Nothing that we’re doing differently. Just hanging out, eating, drinking and having a good time,” she said.


In addition to the threat of flooding, meteorologists are forecasting wind gusts of up to 130km/h (80mph) in the mountains and deserts of Los Angeles County.
Some Californian communities are still reeling from thousands of wildfires that killed 31 people across the state during 2025, including residential neighbourhoods of Los Angeles.
In the Sierra Nevada range along the eastern border of California, more than 30cm of snow had already fallen this week, with up to 1.5 metres (five feet) forecast before the storm is through.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg, Associated Press


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United States

Southern California drenched by powerful Christmas storm, flash flooding

People sit on the roof of a building, stranded during floods in San Bernardino County in California on Christmas Eve, in this screengrab from a social media video. Photo: Timothy and the Machine Music/Facebook/via Reuters



Houses and trees partially submerged in San Bernardino County. Photo: San Bernardino County Fire via Reuters

Part of California State Route 138 that was washed away from flooding, outside Wrightwood. Photo: AP

A worker clears debris from a flooded part of the 134 freeway on Christmas Eve. Photo: Reuters

Indonesia’s Aceh residents traumatised by flooding – ‘worse than the tsunami’

A staff member works to clean a submerged medical equipment after a flash flood at a hospital in Aceh Tamiang, northern Sumatra, on December 16. Photo: AFP

In the town of Kuala Simpang, Aceh, floodwaters have still not fully drained after the torrential rains and floods that hit Sumatra last month. Photo: Aisyah Llewellyn

Hamdaniyah Surbakti shows a photograph of her daughter Clara who died in 2019, a week before she was due to be married. Photo: Aisyah Llewellyn

Activists protest against the Indonesian government’s alleged inability to handle the Sumatra flood disaster in Banda Aceh on December 18. Photo: EPA

Search and rescue members carry a coffin as they relocate the graves of flash flood victims in Hutanabolon, North Sumatra, on December 18. Photo: AFP

Southeast Asian floods set to threaten more wildlife due to climate change

An elephant clearing logs and debris on December 8 in a village affected by flooding in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia. Photo: AP

Deforestation in the mountains of Sumatra driven by oil palm plantations in Aceh, Indonesia. Photo: EPA

People wade through floodwater in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa province, last month after torrential rain and flooding in four provinces in southern and central Vietnam. Photo: EPA

An argusianus argus, a species of pheasant, seen in Southern Thailand. Photo: Shutterstock

Asia’s 2025 in extreme weather and natural disasters, from deadly earthquakes to typhoons

Residents inspect the collapsed Maha Myat Muni Pagoda in the city of Mandalay, Myanmar, following a devastating earthquake. Photo: EPA-EFE

A woman walks along a mud-covered street in Liloan, Cebu province, in the aftermath of Typhoon Kalmaegi on November 6. Photo: AFP

A car is seen stranded on a stretch of collapsed road in Aomori prefecture, northeastern Japan, December 9 following a powerful magnitude 7.5 earthquake. Photo: EPA

Locals look for items in a collapsed house in Manay, in the province of Davao Oriental on October 11, after two powerful quakes struck off the southern Philippines on October 10. Photo: AFP

Six areas in Peninsular Malaysia experienced maximum daily temperatures of between 35 and 37 degrees Celsius for three consecutive days last week. Photo: Reuters

Indonesian elephants tasked to help in flood recovery spur conservation debate

Sumatran elephants deployed to help clear tree debris last week following flash floods in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya district, Aceh province, Indonesia. Photo: AFP

A Sumatran elephant carries a log with its trunk in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya, Indonesia last week after devastating floods hit Sumatra. Photo: EPA

Mahouts riding Sumatran elephants deployed to help clear tree debris last week following flash floods in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya district, Indonesia’s Aceh province. Photo: AFP

Residents search for the remains of their house in a village in Aceh Tamiang, northern Sumatra, last week following flash floods. Photo: AFP

A member of the Tapanuli species of orangutans, which live in south Tapanuli, Sumatra, Indonesia. Photo: Shutterstock

How one man kept Thailand’s floods at bay: ‘the only dry house in Songkhla’

Wicharit Leelakorn keeps his house dry with a makeshift flood-protection system during November’s floods in Hat Yai, Songkhla province, Thailand. Photo: Facebook/wicharit.leelakorn

Flooded fields in Hat Yai, Thailand’s southern Songkhla province, on Saturday. Hat Yai is one of the hardest-hit districts. Photo: Vantor / AFP

Wicharit Leelakorn bought a diesel-powered generator to run water pumps when the electricity went out during the floods in Hat Yai, Thailand’s Songkhla province. Photo: Facebook/wicharit.leelakorn

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United States & Canada

Governor declares state of emergency amid deaths, rescues, evacuations, floods and potential mudslides


Governor declares state of emergency amid deaths, rescues, evacuations, floods and potential mudslides.


Southern California drenched by powerful Christmas storm, flash flooding

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Governor declares state of emergency amid deaths, rescues, evacuations, floods and potential mudslides

Governor declares state of emergency amid deaths, rescues, evacuations, floods and potential mudslides