(CNN) The mud came in an instant and swept away everything in its path. Trees, homes, vehicles, even people -- nothing was spared from the rapidly flowing mud's wrath.

Images taken before and after the mudslides in Montecito, California, show the extent of the destruction.

The neighborhood of Randall Road turned from lush green to a deep brown, with wide swaths of street transformed into a flooded landscape.

The mudslides began after heavy rains early Tuesday created rivers of mud and debris that ran down hillsides in Santa Barbara County. Seventeen people have died in the mudslides , and another 17 were unaccounted for, authorities said

Before the destruction, Channel Drive was a wide street that weaved between the Coral Casino and the Biltmore Hotel and continued along the oceanfront.

Read More