More than 600 rescue personnel drawn from 20 agencies were searching Ventura County, California on Wednesday for seven people still unaccounted for after a landslide struck the town of La Conchita on Monday, 10 January 2005. The disaster claimed the lives of four men, three women, and three children.
Among those injured, eight were hospitalized and two remained in critical condition as of early Wednesday. The slide destroyed 15 homes and damaged 16 others. County officials advised La Conchita residents to boil tap water or rely on bottled water as a precaution.
Rescuers used shovels, chain saws, sniffer dogs, and heavy machinery to work through the debris, though the effort was briefly suspended earlier in the week when renewed rain raised the risk of a second slide.
The broader storm system caused additional fatalities across the region. Los Angeles County authorities reported at least nine storm-related deaths there. Floodwaters and heavy snow also stranded some 200 motorists in the San Bernardino Mountains and left more than 18,000 Los Angeles residents without power.
According to the National Weather Service, 15 consecutive days of rain through Monday deposited 16.9 inches (42.9 centimeters), surpassing an 80-year-old California record.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in January 2005, in its own words.