
At least 13 people are dead and 25 injured in Southern California after pouring rain triggered mudslides that swept homes from their foundations and blocked roads, forcing rescue crews to use helicopters to pluck people from rooftops.

Multiple bodies were found in mud and debris during the rescue operations on Tuesday in Montecito, 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

Most deaths were believed to have occurred in Montecito, a wealthy enclave of about 9,000 people northwest of Los Angeles that is home to such celebrities as Oprah Winfrey, Rob Lowe and Ellen DeGeneres. One person was also killed in a weather-related fatality in Los Angeles County.

Twenty people were hospitalized and four were described as 'severely critical', while an unknown number were unaccounted for. The search for survivors continued into the evening, but authorities warned that their conditions would deteriorate if they got wet.

The mud was unleashed in the dead of night by flash flooding - months after a massive wildfire ravaged the area, stripping vegetation and making mudslides practically inevitable in heavy rains.

The first confirmed death was Roy Rohter, a former real estate broker who founded St. Augustine Academy in Ventura. The Catholic school's headmaster, Michael Van Hecke, announced the death and said Rohter's wife was injured by the mudslide.

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Firefighters rescue a 14-year-old girl who was trapped for hours inside a destroyed home in Montecito on Tuesday. Rescue crews worked for six hours using the jaws of life and other tools to free her from the mangled wreckage, but she walked away

A handout photo made available by Santa Barbara County Fire Department shows a rainbow forming above Montecito while law enforcement and the curious survey the destruction on Hot Springs Road following heavy rains in Montecito

A man wades in a flooded section of the US 101 freeway near the San Ysidro exit after the disastrous and deadly flooding

‹ Slide me › Before and after images show the devastation - with homes washed away

‹ Slide me › The devastation was adjacent to massive mansions in the celebrity enclave

The first confirmed death was Roy Rohter (pictured above), a former real estate broker who founded St. Augustine Academy in Ventura. His wife Theresa was injured by the mudslide

Helicopters were used to pluck more than 50 people from rooftops and dozens more were rescued on the ground, including a mud-caked 14-year-old girl pulled from a collapsed Montecito home where she had been trapped for hours.

'I thought I was dead there for a minute,' the rescued teen, later identified as Lauren Cantin, told rescuers, according to NBC News.

The teen was discovered when firefighters using dogs in the search heard a scream. Rescue crews worked for six hours using the jaws of life and other tools to free her from the mangled wreckage.

Santa Barbara County fire Captain Dave Zaniboni said: 'We're performing multiple rescues. There will be more,' adding that some of those brought to safety were buried in mud.

About 21,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders by mid-Monday. Officials estimated that just 10 to 15 per cent of residents ordered to evacuate heeded the warning ahead of a dangerous storm Monday night.

County spokeswoman Amber Anderson says only 200 of the 1,200 residents contacted in person had left by the evening.

Mandatory evacuation orders were issued mid-Monday but officials estimated that just 10 to 15 per cent of residents actually heeded the warning ahead of the dangerous storm

Power: A vehicle lies wrapped and tangled around a tree by the force of deadly flood waters on Hot Springs Road

Slush: A damaged vehicle that was pushed by mudflow and onto the US 101 Freeway from nearby residential area

Emergency personnel rescued this woman from a collapsed house in Montecito

Wrecked: A car is piled up in debris after a mudslide trapped it after heavy rains in Montecito, California

A boulder blocks a road after heavy rains caused deadly mudslides. The rain storm in southern California has destroyed several homes and killed at least 13 people

Mudflows swept three homes from their foundations in Montecito, officials said. A home in the wealthy enclave is seen damaged amid the destruction on Tuesday morning

Santa Barbara County Fire Search Dog Reilly looks for victims in damaged and destroyed homes in Montecito on Tuesday

US 101 was completely impassable at the Olive Mill Road overpass after it flooded with runoff water from Montecito Creek. The critical coastal highway has been completely shut down for 30 miles between Ventura and Santa Barbara

Debris and mud cover the entrance of the Montecito Inn after heavy rain brought flash flooding and mudslides to the area

Damaged vehicles carried by mud flow and debris at the exit of the parking garage to The Montecito Inn

Debris and mud cover the street in front of local area shops after heavy rain brought flash flooding on Tuesday in Montecito

Rescue crews are seen in Santa Barbara County on Tuesday. Heavy debris flows and mudslides blocked roads, forcing helicopter evacuations of residents trapped in their homes

Heavy mudslides have closed US 101 from Santa Barbara to Ventura. Of the areas under threat, Montecito appears hardest hit, with multiple deaths reported. Summerland and Carpinteria were also hit by mudslides

Officials estimate that only 10 to 15 percent of the 21,000 people who were under mandatory evacuation orders actually left. The map above shows the mandatory (red) and voluntary (yellow) evacuation zones issued before Monday's storm

There was a backlog of dozens of callers requesting help. Thousands were without power and there are multiple unconfirmed missing-persons reports.

Elsewhere in Montecito and the surrounding communities, search crews used dogs to seek out the missing and injured amid scenes of destruction where homes once stood.

Swift-water rescue crews and helicopters rushed to the aid of residents trapped amid the destruction.

Critical coastal highway US 101 was shut down for a 30-mile stretch from Ventura to Santa Barbara as work crews tried to clear heavy debris.

Aerial footage shows massive mudslide covering part of the 101 blocking southbound traffic. Officials shut down the coastal highway for a 30-mile stretch

The 101 turned into a river of mud and debris outside of Montecito as officials ordered the coastal highway closed for 30 miles

The US 101 Freeway at the Olive Mill Road overpass was flooded with runoff water from Montecito Creek

Gas leaks caused multiple structure fires and rivers of mud pounded Montecito, were multiple people died in the mudslides

A K-9 search and rescue team walks into an area of debris and mud flow due to heavy rain in Montecito on Tuesday

Search and rescue crews are seen working amid the destruction where homes once stood in Montecito on Tuesday

The main line of the Union Pacific Railroad through Montecito is blocked with mudflow and debris due to heavy rains

The main line of the Union Pacific Railroad through Montecito is blocked with mudflow and debris due to heavy rains

Santa Barbara County firefighters tend to a woman on Hot Springs Road while waiting for an ambulance early Tuesday. The woman was pulled from a debris pile in Montecito caused by heavy rain runoff

Emergency personnel rescue people from rising flood waters and debris after a mudslide in Montecito early Tuesday

An overturned car is seen entangled in debris after a mudslide in Montecito, California early Tuesday

Officials in Santa Barbara County warned of 'highly dangerous road conditions' on Tuesday morning as wrong-way drivers were spotted on key coastal highway US 101 attempting to flee the evacuation zones.

'Hazardous situation. Vehicles are driving the wrong way on the Highway 101. Highly dangerous road conditions. Emergency service personnel are working quickly to clear roads,' officials said in a flash bulletin. 'Please stay off the roads. Stay home and be safe.'

Aerial footage from ABC showed a massive mudslide covering part of the 101.

Helicopters were being used even during the downpours because roads were blocked, Santa Barbara County spokeswoman Amber Anderson said.

'The primary issue right now is access. We've got trees and power lines down,' she said.

Thousands were without power. Evacuation orders were issued Monday over fears of mudslides in those foothill neighborhoods where the state's largest-ever fire raged last month.

Water and debris in lanes brought US 101 to a standstill, and traffic accidents on rain-slicked roadways across the region slowed the morning commute to a crawl.

Traffic is seen at a standstill Tuesday on the 101 Freeway which was closed between Ventura and Santa Barbara

Carpinteria resident Scott Mayfield walks through the mud on Foothill Road in Carpinteria on Tuesday

Paul Foley uses a tractor to clear mud from his avocado ranch on Foothill Road in Carpinteria on Tuesday

Carpinteria resident Jeff Gallup carries his bike through mud on Foothill Road in Carpinteria on Tuesday

Contract workers with the Ventura Public Works Department clear a large fallen tree in downtown Ventura

To the south, a staggering 9.6 inches of rain fell on Mining Ridge on the Big Sur coast. Highway 1, still not recovered from last winter's damaging rains, suffered new blockages.

Forecasters issued flash flood warnings and predicted that the cold front with powerful winds could bring higher rain totals to downtown Los Angeles than recorded over the past 10 months.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered for about 700 homes in former burn areas of Los Angeles County.

A winter weather advisory was in place for mountain areas, where officials warned motorists to prepare for difficult travel conditions, including gusty winds, low visibility and snow-covered roads

A yearslong drought eased in the state last spring, but Northern California had a dry start to winter and hardly any measurable rain fell in the south over the past six months.

The extremely dry conditions and high winds last year led to some of the most destructive blazes on both ends of the state.

The first significant storm of the season soaked much of the state.

Record-breaking rain fell on the San Francisco Bay region before the storm largely passed overnight, leaving diminishing showers there before dawn Tuesday. Stormy weather continued to the east in the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada.

Downtown San Francisco had a record 3.15 inches of rain on Monday, smashing the old mark of 2.36 inches set in 1872 and making it the city's 16th wettest day since 1849, the National Weather Service said.

A California Highway Patrol vehicle squeezes by a car that was caught in a mudslide in Topanga Canyon on Tuesday

Los Angeles Fire Department Firefighters work admid flood waters and mud after debris flow during heavy rains in Sun Valley

Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters work in Sun Valley on Tuesday. Heavy rains overnight combined with large areas burned by several recent wildfires in Southern California combined for flash flooding and mudslide risk

Los Angeles Fire Department Firefighters work admist flood waters and mud after debris flow during heavy rains Tuesday

Northbound traffic comes to a standstill on Interstate 5 freeway near the rushing waters of the Los Angeles river near downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday morning

A rescue team removes their boat after a swift water rescue in the Los Angeles River early Tuesday at Lake Balboa