Most of Santa Barbara County was under a Flash Flood Warning Sunday as heavy rainfall drenched the region and caused major flooding.
High winds brought down trees into homes, across roads, and onto power lines, with outages reported in many areas.
Homes near Mission Creek at De la Vina and Haley streets were evacuated Sunday afternoon due to the rising water levels, according to Santa Barbara city officials. Police also evacuated residents in the area of Bath and Cota streets.
Santa Barbara Airport runways flooded and the airport closed to all incoming and outgoing flights as of 5:30 p.m. “All commercial flights have been canceled, private and general aviation operations are paused, and the terminal is closed until further notice,” airport officials said.
The Santa Barbara Airport set a rainfall record for the date of 2.23 inches, shattering the old record of 0.50 in 1990, according to the National Weather Service.
Two-day storm totals for the county as of Sunday evening were 5.31 inches at Alisal Reservoir, 4.94 at Cachuma Dam and Tecolate Canyon at 4.70. Other totals were 3.63 inches in Santa Barbara, 0.97 in Santa Maria, 4.01 in Solvang, 1.78 in Carpinteria and 3.07 in Lompoc.
After rising rapidly all day Sunday, the Cold Spring debris basin on East Mountain Drive in Montecito began spilling over the top in late afternoon.
The National Weather Service said the Flash Flood Warnings will be in effect through midnight Sunday due to the heavy rainfall and major flooding reported around the region. They apply to southern San Luis Obispo County, Santa Barbara County and Ventura County.
“This is a dangerous and life-threatening situation. Do not attempt to travel unless you are fleeing an area subject to flooding or under an evacuation order,” a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) said.
Life-threatening flash flooding of creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses was expected. Debris flows and mudslides were also reported, according to the NWS.
NWS and emergency response officials reminded people not to drive into flooded roads, since most flood deaths occur in vehicles. Avoid driving at night in the rain when possible, since it is harder to recognize flooded areas, they said.
Evacuation orders are in effect for several South Coast areas, mostly near streams, due to flooding concerns from the hours of nonstop heavy rain.
View the evacuation area map and get more information here.
Find sandbag stations and get more storm-related resources here.
