Flash Flood Warning Issued In Orange County

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the coastal and northern Orange County area Tuesday morning, warning people not to travel unless fleeing an area subject to flooding or evacuation orders.

Just before 8 a.m., cell phones across the region received a warning: "HAZARD...Life-threatening flash flooding. Heavy rain producing flash flooding."

According to the weather service, "Doppler radar indicated heavy rain across the warned area. Between 0.5 and 0.75 inches of rain have fallen in the past hour, and 2 to 3 inches in the past 24 hours. The expected rainfall rate is 0.5 to 1 inch in 1 hour. Additional rainfall amounts of 0.75 to 1.5 inches are possible in the warned area. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly."

The warning stretches from Seal Beach to Newport Beach and east to Irvine and Yorba Linda.

The area will remain under flood watch until 6 a.m., Wednesday.

A relentless atmospheric river has drenched Southern California, adding to record-setting rain totals that have already reached double-digits in some areas and caused mud and debris flows that forced evacuations and left some homes heavily damaged Tuesday.

Officials urged residents to stay home and off the roads Monday. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in eight counties in the state, including Los Angeles and Orange counties.

In Orange County, a voluntary evacuation warning was issued at 7 p.m. Sunday for Silverado, Williams, Modjeska and Trabuco canyons due to heavy rains. A map with detailed depictions of the areas under evacuation warnings can be found at www.ocsheriff.gov/emergency.

Canyon residents were encouraged to prepare and voluntarily evacuate, especially those with disabilities, access and/or functional needs, and canyon residents with large animals.

Any person with disabilities and those with access and/or functional needs requiring evacuation assistance were asked to call Orange County Sheriff's Department Dispatch at 714-647-7000.

Orange County Animal Care encouraged animal owners in voluntary evacuation areas to implement their personal evacuation plans. Pet evacuation tips are available at ocpetinfo.com/education-resources/disaster- preparedness. Any person needing assistance with information about animal or large animal evacuations should call Orange County Animal Care at 714-935-6848 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. or 714-259-1122 after-hours from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m.

City News Service contributed to this report.