At least 13 dead in California mudslides

Heavy rains have triggered destructive rivers of mud in southern California leaving at least 13 people dead, according to officials.

At least 13 people have died and thousands have fled their homes in southern California as a powerful rainstorm triggered flash floods and mudslides on slopes where a series of intense wildfires had burned off protective vegetation last month.

The heavy downpours subsided after prompting evacuation orders for residents along the Pacific Coast north of Los Angeles, but forecasters warned of 5 to 11cm more rain throughout the day.

At least six people died in the storm and mudslides in Santa Barbara County, the hardest-hit county in the region.

The weather in Southern California was mild this week, so residents who fled their homes did not have to endure the cold snap that has gripped the US midwest and east coast in recent weeks.

An unknown number of people in the county were unaccounted for and 25 residents have been injured.

Emergency workers, using search dogs and helicopters, have rescued dozens of people stranded in rubble.

Last month's wildfires, the largest in California history, left the area vulnerable to mudslides. The fires burned away grass and shrubs that held the soil in place, and baked a waxy layer into the earth which prevents water from sinking deeply into the ground.