The toll after flash floods and mudslides hit California’s Santa Barbara County rose to 20, BBC reported. Rescue workers are still searching for four people who were reported missing.
The deceased had “multiple traumatic injuries due to flash flood with mudslides”, the Santa Barbara County Coroner’s Office said.
Several agencies, including 3,000 personnel from local, state and federal agencies are part of the major rescue mission, Reuters reported. “While every hour it remains less likely we’ll find anyone alive, there remains hope,” county sheriff Bill Brown told reporters.
Meanwhile, officials have closed parts of Highway 101. “No one could have planned for the size and scope of what a 200-year storm, immediately following our largest wildfire, would bring,” Santa Barbara County Fire Department chief Eric Peterson said.
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