As the powerful storm that battered Southern California moved out of the region Tuesday, residents in the San Fernando Valley began the job of assessing the damage and cleaning up the mess.
In Studio City, near the intersection of Fredonia and Kentucky drives, crews were working to clear out mud and debris. Earlier in the day, the area was flooded, leaving several residents’ cars submerged.
“It was about two feet, two and a half feet higher than it is right now,” resident Steven Quat said of the flood waters.
Two of Quat’s vehicles were underwater in the 3700 block of Fredonia Drive.
“It was completely underwater. The water was over the front hood,” he told KTLA.
Public works crews began clearing the area of mud and debris that, in some areas of the neighborhood, was three to five feet deep.
When asked what the hardest part of the cleanup has been, Studio City resident Jman Song didn’t hesitate.
“I mean, we just can’t get out,” he said. “Luckily we did not get any damage on our property.”
Resident Darryl Henderson was not quite as lucky.
“We had a mudslide. It’s the first time I’ve ever had water come in the back of my house,” he said.
David Norland and his wife, Lucy, were lugging sandbags onto their property, preparing for the next round of rain forecasted to return this weekend.
“There’s been flooding at the back of our house here,” Norland said. “I have my place of work underneath the house and the water has been coming through.”
As for Quat, whose two cars were submerged under water, he’s looking on the bright side.
“It’s only material things. Nobody’s hurt. We’re not digging anybody out of rubble, and my house didn’t go sliding down the hill, he said.