Update, December 29, 4:22 p.m.: Photographic evidence of the storm-caused carnage at Main Beach in Laguna Beach.
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Update, December 29, 11:41 a.m.: It's raining again, so this information may need to be updated by the time you've read it, but, Laguna Beach officials have set the flooding and mudslide damage at $10.2 million.
More than 30 residences were affected by flooding and mudslides, ranging from moderate to major damage. Some homes faced water and mud as much as six-feet deep.
The Willowbrook campus of the Anneliese School ($900,000 in damage) and the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter ($800,000) sustained the most damage. Both will require substantial work and repair before being able to reopen.
The majority of the 59 businesses and commercial structures that closed during the rains and flooding have reopened as of Tuesday, according to an Los Angeles Times report.
Original Post, December 27, 11:16 a.m.: If you've been living in OC the past two weeks, you know it's been a wet existence. Downpour, after downpour, slanted rain, water rising from the ground, flooded gutters. It wasn't the most pleasant time to be singing the praises of living in Southern California.
Mudslides left families stranded (Silverado Canyon) and major roadways blocked off to traffic (PCH, Ortega Highway, 241 Toll Road). Car accident reports spiked, as motorists were spinning out of control or were blinded on the wet roadways. Four hikers were stranded in the San Gabriel Mountains, requiring a helicopter rescue by Los Angeles firefighers. And there were likely numerous stories that fell inbetween.
It go so bad that Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado declared a state of emergency in nine Southern California counties.
Once everything was said and done, once the blues skies stayed blue, one Orange County official said estimates of the damage were around $23 million. Across the southland, the total damage came in around $60 million.
Eh, chump change. Compared to what? Oh, that $20 billion deficit.
