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Montecito evacuated due to rains, flooding
Five years after a mudslide killed 23 in Montecito, the entire city has been evacuated as heavy rains pummel the area.
MONTECITO, Calif. - As a massive storm bears down on California, causing flooding and mudslides throughout the state, the scene in Montecito is bringing up memories of deadly mudslides that rolled through the city five years ago this month.
An atmospheric river storm has forced flood warnings and evacuations throughout California, especially in the northern parts of the state including Sacramento and Santa Cruz counties. On Monday, an evacuation order was issued for the entire city of Montecito in Santa Barbara County.
Videos posted to social media show floodwaters raging through a Montecito creek, including one from TV's Ellen DeGeneres.
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Ellen DeGeneres documents Montecito flooding 5 year's after mudslide killed 23
The entire community of Montecito and surrounding canyons scarred by recent wildfires were under an evacuation order that came on the fifth anniversary of a mudslide that killed 23 people and destroyed more than 100 homes in the coastal enclave.
Monday's evacuations come five years to the day since an overnight mudslide killed more than 23 people and destroyed more than 100 homes in that city in 2018.
"This is crazy on the five-year anniversary. We are having unprecedented rain. This creek next to our house never flows, ever," DeGeneres said in a video posted to Twitter.
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Weather Forecast for Monday, Jan. 9
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LOOK BACK: Officials lift some mudslide evacuations in Montecito
This year's storms have also been deadly. The number of deaths related to the storms climbed from 12 to 14 on Monday, state officials said.
In the Paso Robles area, rescuers abandoned the search for a missing 5-year-old boy who was swept away in the floodwaters.
According to ofifials the boy's mom was driving when her truck got stuck in the floodwaters near Paso Robles Monday morning. Bystanders were able to pull the mom out of the truck, but child was taken out of the vehicle and swept downstream. At the time the mom was rescued there was not yet an evacuation order in the area.
According to the Associated Press, a firefighter found one of the boy's shoes, but the boy remained unfound more than five hours later.
"We need to be nicer to Mother Nature, because Mother Nature's not happy with us," DeGeneres said. "Let's all do our part. Stay safe everyone."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.