Huge mudslide destroys houses

Destroyed house in Laurel Canyon after a mudslide (photo L.A. Times).

A huge mudslide furiously crashed down on homes in a coastal hamlet today as a deadly Pacific storm hammered Southern California for a fourth straight day, boosting rainfall totals to astonishing levels. At least one person died and several were injured in the mudslide that pummeled a four-block area of homes in tiny La Conchita, damaging 15 to 20 homes. The hillside cascaded down like a brown river as authorities were evacuating about 200 residents from the area. Trees and vegetation were carried away, leaving huge gashes of raw earth on the bluff.From the start of the latest wave of violent weather on Friday through midday Monday, several mountainous areas in Southern California had recorded more than 20 inches of rain, including 26 inches in Nordhoff Ridge in the Ventura County mountains.