LOS ANGELES — The most powerful El Nino storm yet this week pushed onto the California coast Wednesday as police and outreach teams kept an eye on Los Angeles riverbeds where thousands of homeless people live and would be vulnerable to flash flooding.
Driving rain inundated the San Francisco Bay Area during the morning commute, causing nearly two dozen crashes, toppling trees and flooding streets and streams.
The storm pushed southward toward Southern California with strong thunderstorms and pounding surf with waves topping 10 feet.
It’s the latest in a series of El Nino storms that has drenched California and the desert Southwest as it heads toward the Gulf Coast.
The latest system is packing colder temperatures, stronger winds and heavier rainfall than the previous ones that have lined up since the weekend and brought much-needed rain to the drought-stricken state.
In all, the current storm could dump as much as three inches of rain in coastal and valley areas and up to four inches at higher elevations, said NWS meteorologist Curt Kaplan.
Another less powerful El Nino storm was right behind and expected to hit land Thursday,
Authorities have spent days getting homeless people from low-lying areas along the Los Angeles River. Shuttles were available to shelters that had room for as many as 6,000 beds, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said.
Los Angeles officials have mapped homeless encampments for the first time as they try to contact as many people as possible. Police were prepared to temporarily detain people who were illegally camped along the Los Angeles River but refused to move.
“We’re not going to charge them with things,” Garcetti said. “But we will use the force of law — there is law on the books that they can’t be there.”
