Los Angeles: House flattened and residents evacuated as landslide damages California homes
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) said that an initial search of the area in Sherman Oaks found no victims, and that several people were evacuated from one home.
Thursday 14 March 2024 17:12, UK
A house in Los Angeles has been crushed by a landslide, the city's fire department said.
The house, which was under renovation, was flattened by a large portion of hillside at 3am (10am in the UK) on Thursday.
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) said that an initial search of the area in Sherman Oaks found no victims, and that several people were evacuated from one home.
Photos show that a house was crushed by the slide, with most of its roof laying on the ground.
Nearby, a swimming pool and decking were pulled away from another house. A tennis court and another swimming pool were also left on the edge of a fissure further up the hill.
According to local outlet ABC7, LAFD spokesman Cody Weireter said that the higher-up pool "basically almost exploded" and said firefighters pumped water out of it to reduce the stress on the hillside.
He added: " You have a large debris of mud, vegetation, trees... and rocks and concrete just come down into one of the homes which was under construction.
"A portion of one of the homes' outdoor pool area has actually separated from that main foundation, and so obviously that's one of our biggest concerns right now."
No immediate cause for the slide was confirmed, but it is the latest in southern California as the state grapples with heavy winter downpours.
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Downtown LA has seen around 41cm of rain since the start of the year, nearly double its usual rainfall.
The city has reported nearly 600 mudslides as of early February and re-tagged 16 buildings as unsafe to enter over the conditions.
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The National Weather Service has said that some rainfall is set to return this weekend.