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Ammon News - At least three people have been killed by falling trees as a powerful storm drenches California bringing flooding, mudslides and power outages.

Fire officials have responded to over 130 flooding incidents and conducted several rescues since the deluge began.

Forecasters say heavy rain with life-threatening flash flooding will continue into Tuesday.

The record-breaking rainfall has led the governor to declare a state of emergency in eight counties.

The storm is due to an "atmospheric river" effect, a phenomenon in which water evaporates into the air and is carried along by the wind, forming long currents that flow in the sky like rivers flow on land.

This slow-moving storm is the second atmospheric river to hit California in two weeks.

Officials have issued evacuation orders for some hilly neighbourhoods in the south of the state, including in Los Angeles, where city leaders declared an emergency.

"It is vital now more than ever, stay safe and off the roads," LA Mayor Karen Bass said on Monday. "Only leave your house if it is absolutely necessary."

Farther north, San Francisco, one of the hilliest cities in the world, and its surrounding areas have seen landslides.

Three men have died from tree falls, including one in Sacramento Valley, and another when a tree toppled on to a home in Santa Cruz County, officials said. An elderly man died in Yuba City in Northern California when a redwood tree fell in his backyard.

BBC