The death toll from the mudslides that struck Southern California climbed to 15 yesterday as rescue crews searched for anyone trapped, injured or dead in the onslaught that smashed homes and swept away cars.
The torrential rainstorm that set off the disaster cleared out and was no longer a hindrance as searchers made their way across a landscape strewn with boulders and covered in cement-like mud shoulder-high in some places.
“Right now our assets are focused on determining if anyone is still alive in any of those structures that have been damaged,” Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said.
He said that several dozen homes were destroyed or severely damaged, and that there are probably many more in similar condition in areas still inaccessible. At least 25 people were injured, 50 or more had to be rescued by helicopters, and an undetermined number of others were missing, authorities said.
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