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Frequent Heavy Rain Has Made California a Mudslide Hotspot

Los Angeles saw 592 slides in one week, a reminder that excessive precipitation events set off more than flooding.

But he knew one thing for sure: “Debris flows generated by soil slips during rainstorms present a greater risk of death and injury to southern California residents than all other kinds of slope failure combined.” Excessive precipitation events were the big-danger zone. The week after Viet’s backyard fell, I stood at the base of that steep, still-slippery slope next to civil engineer Joe Demers, who works for one of Southern California’s largest private landslide fixers, Alpha Structural Inc. (“Listen and watch for rushing water, mud, or unusual sounds.”) California emergency response teams now coordinate with the National Weather Service to warn people on social media platforms of mudflow risk in the days preceding big rainstorms.

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