Winter Storm Diego Turns Deadly

Just as we started to rebound from hellish wildfires, Californians are hit with winter storm Diego’s heavy rain and snowfall, causing mudslides, rock slides, plane crashes, overturned motor vehicles, and deadly devastation. During these freakish events of Mother Nature, we rely upon our local governments, transportation companies, and disaster relief crews to protect us from undue harm. If there was a breach of duty somewhere, rest assured we know about it!

The Los Angeles attorneys at Ellis Injury Law Firm are standing by to assist people who have been harmed by weather-related damage where negligence may be a factor. The cross-country storm is predicted to go into early next week, so we remain on heightened alert for developing news stories in Southern California.

Thursday Weather-Related Incidents in California

• One person was killed yesterday after a motor vehicle flipped on I-5 during rainy conditions in Burbank.
• A Southwest Airlines plane carrying 112 passengers and five crew members skidded to a sudden stop off the rain-soaked runway during the torrential downpour yesterday, with no immediate injuries reported.
• Grapevine’s Frazier Park area was under a snowfall warning.
• Flash floods impacted Hart Park in OC.
• Cars were trapped by mudslides in the Sepulveda Basin.
• Thunderstorms hit the Canyon fire area, putting residents on high alert.
• A mudslide hit 170 East in Victory.
• There was a 13-vehicle pile-up on the 10 Freeway in Riverside.

Friday’s Winter Storm Diego Developments

• At 9 last night, heavy rainfall caused a collapsed roof at the Homeroom Hourly Child Care Center in San Diego.
• A six-vehicle pile-up caused major traffic snarls on Interstate 80 in Berkeley at 11:30 a.m. this morning.
• Mandatory evacuation orders remain in place for Trabuco Canyon in OC and the Lake Elsinore area east of LA.
• A debris flow took out a guardrail and a narrow bridge in Trabuco Creek this morning.
• Crews were still working to clean up the Malibu mudslide, which shut down the Pacific Coast Highway for hours.
• The flash flood warning for inland OC has been extended.
• A cross-country skier fell through the ice and was rescued from Roseville Lake last night.
• The famous P-64 “Culvert Cat” cougar was found dead, with badly burned paws from the Woolsey Fire.

Are Weather-Related Evacuations, Accidents, and Deaths Inevitable in California?

California seems subject to cascading events, with one natural disaster intensifying the next. Are costly and deadly catastrophes like wildfires, floods, and landslides simply in our future? Or can something be done? Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Farshid Vahedifard says it’s up to decision-makers, urban planners, risk analysts, and civil engineers to invest more time and effort in tracking connections between natural disasters under a changing climate. Since 1980, we’ve seen nearly 10,000 deaths related to natural disasters in the United States. What we do know is that deforestation and flooding often happen together. Week-long heatwaves and droughts are linked to wildfires. Early snow and ice melting extends the wildfire season. Temperature fluctuations harm infrastructure like dams and levees. Hurricanes trigger debris flows, landslides, and flooding. Area leaders must be more proactive in their risk assessment of the regions they are in-charge of, investing in infrastructure, denying building permits for vulnerable zones, and promptly evacuating areas under threat.

If you or a loved one were recently involved in an “accident” that seemed preventable, there is no harm in contacting a Los Angeles personal injury attorney to find out if known hazards were left unattended, either directly or indirectly causing your injuries. It costs nothing for your free consultation.