18 October 2015

Videos and images of the mudflows in the Tehachapi Mountains, California

Posted by Dave Petley

Mudflows in the Tehachapi Mountains

Exceptional rainfall on Thursday in the Tehachapi Mountains in California triggered a wave of mudslides that inundated Interstate 5 and Route 58, trapping a large number of vehicles.  There is a really good set of images of the aftermath on Imgur:

Tehachapi Mountains

Tehachapi Mountains mudflows via Imgur

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The Weather Network has more details.  Youtube has some good drone footage of the aftermath. The role of the concrete barrier in the median strip in containing the flows is very interesting.  This probably provided a rapid way for the drivers to move to safety.  I would be interested to know if this was intentional:-

.There are a few videos of the mudslides in action, such as this one:-

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Probably the most exciting part though is this drone video of a mudflow sweeping down the valley:-

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The impact of these flows on vehicles on the road is truly terrifying: