Successive storms continue to hit the US state of California, leaving dozens of victims

Weather of Arabia - The US Meteorological Service confirmed Thursday that the state of California, in which a "continuous series of hurricanes" is heading north, will witness Thursday more heavy rains while it is still under the weight of floods and landslides that have so far killed at least 18 people. .

At least 18 people died in the latest series of storms that lashed the western United States, dumping rains in some places not seen in 150 years.

Heavy rains caused widespread power outages, many floods, uprooted trees, cut off major roads, and sometimes even swept away cars and their drivers.

The US National Weather Service warned that "the heaviest rainfall is expected in northwest California during the next two days.

Later, a warning was issued stating that these weather conditions may also affect other Pacific Rim states until early Saturday.

In the town of Aptos, near Santa Cruz, residents were collecting their belongings after it was flooded.

"It's probably the worst flood I've seen since I moved here in 1984," Dag Spinelli told AFP.

"The Aptos Creek was roaring, I thought it was going to flood the little footpath, and there were logs going through the river, about one tree every 30 seconds."

"It was amazing to watch the amount of debris and timber flowing across the creek," he said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom warned of the storms, which remain dangerous even though their intensity is down.

"Even if less rain falls now, it may have the same effect, or even a greater impact on the ground," he told reporters.

Tragedies across the US state

More than 35,000 California homes and businesses lost power early Thursday, according to tracking website poweroutage.us.

Tragedies were recorded across the state, for example a five-year-old boy who was still missing Wednesday after being swept away by a flood in San Luis Obispo. This happened when baby Kyle and his mom Lindsay Dunn were driving Monday morning to school.

Lindsay managed to get out of the flooded car, but she was unable to get her son out.

The boy's father, Brian Dunne, said, according to the Los Angeles Times, that Kyle "was calm. He was trying to say, 'Keep calm, Mom'. She was doing everything she could."

When she managed to get him out of the car, the flow of water separated them. Locals pulled her out of the water, but Kyle was swept away.

"My wife has a very terrible feeling that she got away with it, not him," Brian Dunn added. "I did the right thing to get him out of the car. The San Miguel firefighters told me they saw the car moved and then flipped into the creek."

The Sheriff of San Luis Obispo County said they are still searching for the child with the support of diving teams as well.

"We will continue to search until we find him," his spokesman, Tony Cibula, told The San Luis Obispo Tribune.

Storms kill at least 18 people

According to a count published by the Los Angeles Times, the confirmed death toll (18 people) in the state includes drivers who were found in flooded cars, people who fell on trees, a couple killed in a rockslide, and people whose bodies were found in floodwaters.

Winter storms are nothing new in California, which receives most of its annual precipitation over a fairly short period.

But the weather in the last two weeks, when it has rained more in San Francisco than at any time since 1866, has been fierce.

Scientists say that global warming is increasing the intensity of weather events, with more severe storms and severe droughts.

Despite the tragedy caused by the floods, the storms, which are expected to continue to lash California for an additional week, bring rain to a much-needed part of the country after more than two decades of drought.

However, the amounts of precipitation are still not enough to fill the depleted aquifers and aquifers.

AFP/BBC