Caltrans Offers Payments for Pothole Damage as Mudslides Mount and Rain Dwindles

Cars drive through flooded streets in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Feb. 5, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

More mudslides occurred Feb. 7, this time again in Studio City, despite rainfall ceasing during the day in Southern California.

Light rain is expected to pick back up through the night, according to the National Weather Service.

Mulholland Drive in Studio City was covered in mud as of midday, closing the scenic street and possibly endangering some nearby hilltop homes between Coldwater Canyon Drive and Laurel Canyon Boulevard. Several portions of the road collapsed, with no injuries reported.

Forecasters for the National Weather Service (NWS) said a fast-moving front will make its way through Los Angeles County on Wednesday night before drying up through the weekend and into next week, with a quarter to half inch of precipitation—possibly more in mountain and foothill regions—expected tonight, which could trigger more mudslides in vulnerable areas.

A view of mudslide damage which destroyed a home as a powerful long-duration atmospheric river storm, the second in less than a week, continues to impact Southern California in Los Angeles on Feb. 5, 2024. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Forecasters added that a winter storm warning remains in effect until 8 a.m. Feb. 8 in the San Gabriel Mountains, where 20 inches of snow could fall above 7,000 feet and as much as 3 inches as low as 3,000 feet.

As of Tuesday evening, the Los Angeles Fire Department had responded to 475 mudslides, 390 fallen trees, more than the usual number of car accidents and multiple rescues from flooded areas according to Fire Chief Kristin Crowley.

There were also 35 buildings requiring inspection after the mudslides. Five buildings have been red tagged and seven yellow tagged, which allows people to collect their belongings before evacuating.

Also as of Tuesday, the fire department received 441 reports of potholes, according to Ms. Crowley.

Vehicles with pothole damage amounting to less than $10,000 can call the Department of Transportation (Caltrans) at [phone] or contact a local Caltrans office—which for Los Angeles is District 7—to submit a form for reimbursement, according to California’s Office of Risk and Insurance Management. For damage exceeding $10,000, residents are encouraged to reach out to the risk management office directly.

According to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, as of 7 a.m. Wednesday, crews had restored service to 76,381 customers in Los Angeles County since the storm began Sunday, with 1,585 customers still without power. Half of the outages are in Brentwood—a city west of Beverly Hills. As many as 2,700 homes were without power in Brentwood at the outage’s peak, according to the department.

Heavy rainfall causes mudslides in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Feb. 6, 2024. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Accuweather.com estimated on Feb. 7 that the destruction across the state could amount to $9 billion to $11 billion, with the rainfall, flooding, and mudslides still taking their toll on some of the most heavily populated and high-income areas of California. And not all areas have reported their damage, the site said.

Downtown Los Angeles received 2.93 inches of rain Monday, surpassing the previous record for that day of 2.30 inches in 1901, according to the NWS.

Los Angeles also saw the third highest rainfall within a two-day period since 1877, when rain totals started being recorded, reaching 7.03 inches for Sunday and Monday, nearly half of the city’s seasonal average, the NWS reported.

For homeless individuals, the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority have increased shelter and housing voucher availability, with shelters opening at the Lincoln Heights Senior Citizen Center at 2323 Workman St., Mid Valley Senior Citizen Shelter at 8825 Kester Ave. in Panorama City, South LA Sports Activity Center at 7020 S. Figueroa St. and Oakwood Recreation Center at 767 California Ave, according to the authority.

Residents can call 2-1-1 for transportation to a shelter.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in eight counties in the state, including Los Angeles and Orange counties, while Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Monday signed a local state of emergency declaration. The declarations will help speed up the delivery of vital supplies and resources, deployment of disaster responders, and the issuing of evacuation orders, according to officials.

City News Service contributed to this report.