Montecito mudslides: at least 17 dead as hundreds join search for victims in devastated California community
Search-and-rescue teams from all over California were working their way through the muck and wreckage of Montecito, a wealthy enclave of 9,000 people northwest of Los Angeles
Rescuers used dogs and helicopters were searching for victims of powerful mudslides which left at least 17 people dead in a southern California community that is also home to major celebrities including Oprah Winfrey.
“We are saddened to report that the death toll has now risen to 17,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown told reporters, saying it had been “another extremely challenging day.”
At least 28 people were injured, authorities said. Twelve remained hospitalised, four in critical condition, while 30,000 remained subject to mandatory evacuation orders.
After a better look at the damage, officials lowered the number of destroyed homes from 100 to 64 and raised the number of damaged ones from 300 to 446.
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who has been touted this week as a possible 2020 candidate for the White House, was among those affected by the mudslides.
Winfrey posted a video of herself outside her Montecito mansion wading through near-knee deep mud.