Cars drive through submerged roads amid ‘life-threatening’ flooding in San Francisco

The second of back-to-back atmospheric rivers battered California on Sunday 4 February, flooding roadways and knocking out power to more than 355,000 people and prompting a rare warning for hurricane-force winds.

As the state braces for what could be days of heavy rains, the storm inundated streets and brought down trees and electrical lines across the San Francisco Bay Area, where winds topped 60mph in some areas.

Gusts exceeding 80mph were recorded in the mountains.

In Southern California, officials warned of potentially devastating flooding and ordered evacuations for canyons that burned in recent wildfires that are at high risk for mud and debris flows.