Over the past several days, Southern California has been hit with a series of powerful rainstorms that have caused flooding, downed trees and power outages.
On Tuesday, Councilwoman Traci Park posted videos on social media showing piles of concrete in the Santa Monica Channel. Park said she spoke with crews from the LA County Public Works, and they said the concrete was from cement installed in the 1970s that peeled away during the storm.
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This photo shows the Santa Monica Channel filled with piles of concrete. CBS LA
Park added that the concrete can't be removed until weather conditions improve. Aerial footage from the channel on Wednesday morning showed piles of concrete stacked on top of each other.
Several businesses along Melrose Avenue were left underwater after multiple inches of rain came rushing in. Some business owners blame city leaders for not preparing enough ahead of time, despite having water-pumping trucks set up in the area. Owners claim there were no employees who were able to operate the machinery or open the utility holes where rainwater could flow through.
In response to the claims, city officials said a "powerful, sudden and fast-moving storm system associated with an atmospheric river condition produced excessive amounts of rain that temporarily overwhelmed the stormwater system."
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Crews worked to clean up the flooded water near Melrose Avenue. CBS LA
The rain and saturated soil also caused downed trees across the region. Citizen videos from different incidents showed downed trees blocking roadways and some on top of cars. Video from Fullerton showed trees completely uprooted, lodged into homes.
The Bureau of Street Services (StreetsLA) said as of Wednesday morning, crews had resolved 77 tree emergencies and had made 121 pothole repairs. A spokesperson for the bureau said it is prioritizing response to these types of requests.
Some of the downed trees caused power outages, leaving thousands of residents in the dark. The LA Department of Water and Power said during peak hours of the storm, about 21,000 customers had no power.
As of 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the department said crews had restored power to more than 11,000 customers. Currently, about 10,000 out of LADWP's 1.5 million customers are without power.
"Outages caused by fallen trees can take additional time to restore, as tree limbs need to be cleared before work can begin on fixing the power structures," the LADWP said. "Other complications include potential flooding in multiple underground vaults which need to be located by crews going from vault-to-vault until they identify the source of the problem, before they can pump water out and repairs can take place."
The LADWP reminds residents to avoid touching downed power lines.
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The powerful rainstorm and saturated soil caused several downed trees across Southern California. CBS LA
The third round of rain is expected to impact the region on Thursday morning. Although forecasters say it will not be as severe as the previous storms, it can still cause slick roads and dangerous conditions.