LOS ANGELES, California -- At least 13 people have been killed in the southern California mudslides caused by a winter storm and the death toll is likely to increase, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said Tuesday.
"While we hope it will not, we expect that this number will increase as we continue to look for people who are still missing and unaccounted for," Brown said.
Emergency services, using search dogs and helicopters, were still on the site looking for victims, he said.
He added that emergency services, using search dogs and helicopters, were still on the site looking for victims, but could not estimate how many people could have possibly been trapped.
A strong winter storm on Monday hammered southern California on the United States West Coast with heavy downpours, triggering deadly mud flows before dawn on Tuesday.
TV footage from local media showed that in the Montecito area, northwest of Los Angeles, the mudslides toppled trees and swept cars away. Multiple houses in the region were torn from their foundations.
Some 500 firefighters from all across the country were continuing to engage in rescue operations, the sheriff said. (Xinhua)
