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California
California ravaged by floods after severe storms [gallery]
A huge storm leads to record rainfall in Southern California and spreads fears of Christmas flooding in other states.
RESIDENTS IN the US states of Arizona and California are bracing themselves for potential Christmas flooding after a storm system left record rainfall in California as businesses broke up for the holidays.
Los Angeles has received about half of its usual annual rainfall in the last week alone, with many streets flooded and residents evacuated from their homes.
Torrential rain also fell in Arizona, Nevada and Utah, and meteorologists believe that the extreme weather conditions could yet continue into Christmas itself.
BBC reports that governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had declared a state of emergency in the south of the state, and law enforcement officials now fear that the heavy rainfall could lead to mudslidefs.
“The ground is so saturated it could move at any time,” an LA public works spokesman said.
Accuweather adds that travellers going to relatives’ houses for Christmas should escape the worst of the weather, with the hardest rains set for the later hours of Christmas Day.
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