Harry and Meghan’s Montecito home is under severe flood warning
The Duchess of Sussex is believed to be bunkering down at the nearly $15million mansion she owns with Prince Harry as killer storms pummel southern California. Harry has landed in Britain today to be reunited with his father King Charles following the announcement that the monarch is battling cancer. The Duke is travelling alone, without his wife or their children Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two, a source close to Harry revealed yesterday.
Meghan is thought to be at home in Montecito with the youngsters as virtually all of southern California remains under flash flood advisories and watches. The historic Pineapple Express weather system dumped a record amount of rain over parts of Los Angeles on Monday, sending mud and boulders down hillsides dotted with multimillion-dollar homes. The storm is causing chaos over several regions including the star-studded Beverly Hills, Malibu and the Sussexes’ Montecito neighborhood. It’s the second severe weather system to hammer the west coast over the past week, and it arrived just as Los Angeles welcomed celebrities for the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, prompting organizers to hastily assemble a tent over the red carpet.
Harry and Meghan, George Clooney , Lady Gaga and Halle Berry are among the celebrities whose multi-million-dollar mansions are under threat by the severe storms. The Sussexes’ $14.65million Montecito mansion was under a ‘flood watch’ warning for 28 hours, while their surrounding county, Santa Barbara, was deluged with inches of rain on Monday. The county’s police department shared a video of brown water exploding out of Mission Creek across West Haley Street and De La Vina Street, turning roads into rivers on Sunday. Harry and Meghan live just a couple miles east with their two children Archie and Lilibet, in a mansion featuring two connected palm trees in the garden and a grand piano in the living room.
It is unclear if Meghan and the children were home during the bulk of the wicked weather or if the property was damaged during the storm. MailOnline has approached representatives for the couple for comment. However, Harry is believed to have touched down on a British Airways flight to London Heathrow today. He reportedly boarded the 11-hour flight hours after Charles revealed he was ill. The King contacted both the Duke of Sussex and the Prince of Wales personally to tell them of his cancer diagnosis before it was announced by Buckingham Palace.
A source close to Harry said that he had immediately decided to come to the UK as soon as possible to be by his father’s side. Experts have claimed that Harry’s dash to Britain ‘indicates the seriousness’ of the King’s condition. Announcing that Prince Harry will come and see his father, the Office of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said: ‘The duke did speak with his father about his diagnosis. He will be traveling to UK to see His Majesty in the coming days.’ A luxury Range Rover believed to be carrying the British royal was seen arriving at LAX’s VIP terminal last night and there are claims he boarded the earliest flight and could be in London by lunchtime.
His father is believed to be resting at Clarence House today ahead of treatment, with Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi seen leaving after a visit this morning. It is not known if Harry will stay in central London to be close to the King or stay at Windsor, most likely at the empty Frogmore Cottage . The King spent last night at home in London after beginning out-patient cancer treatment – as family and friends revealed that the monarch remains ‘hugely positive’ following his bombshell diagnosis. But he may miss public duties for a number of months, it has been claimed.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service has issued flash flood warnings covering several neighborhoods in California, and some residents have even been evacuated. The Los Angeles area saw between 5 and 10 inches (12.7 to 25.4 centimeters) of rainfall by Monday night, with more expected, according to the National Weather Service. At the downtown measuring station, 6.7 inches of rain had fallen by Monday afternoon, nearly half the yearly average of 14.25 inches. It was already the third-wettest two-day period since 1877, the service said. Near the Hollywood Hills, floodwaters carried mud, rocks and household objects downhill through Studio City, damaging at least two homes, city officials said. Sixteen people were evacuated.
About 710,000 people statewide were without power Monday evening and people living in homeless encampments in many parts of the city scrambled for safety. Shelters added beds for the city’s homeless population of nearly 75,000 people. So far officials have attributed three deaths to the storm that first hit Northern California. Crews rescued people from swift-moving water in various parts of Southern California on Monday, including 16 people and five cats in Los Angeles County alone, authorities said.
Also rescued were two homeless people who spent the night on a small island in the Santa Ana River in San Bernardino, about 55 miles (88.51 kilometers) east of Los Angeles, authorities said. The Los Angeles Fire Department said 1,000 firefighters were contending with 49 debris flows, 130 reports of flooding, half a dozen structure fires and several rescues of motorists stranded in vehicles. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass urged residents to avoid driving, warning of fallen trees and electrical lines on flooded roadways. The weather service predicts up to 8 inches of rainfall across Southern California’s coastal and valley areas, with 14 inches possible in the foothills and mountains over the next two days.
Authorities said rain would taper off in intensity on Tuesday, but the threat of flooding remains high. During a dramatic operation in the early hours of Monday morning, LA firefighters rescued 16 people from nine properties in Studio City – the same neighborhood where George Clooney lives in his $2.2 million luxury pad. The Hollywood star recently transformed the mansion, which he originally bought from Fleetwood Mac singer Stevie Nicks in 1995, from a bachelor pad to a palatial estate fit for his wife Amal Clooney and their five-year-old twins Ella and Alexander. Many residents in the same neighborhood woke up Monday morning to find mud, rocks and debris strewn across the streets, while strong winds have blown bricks onto parked cars and pavements.
Meanwhile, star-studded Malibu is being marred by torrential rain, and the city is currently under a coastal flood warning, with the NWS warning residents to stay out of the water due to ‘dangerous surf conditions’. The luxury beachside city is home to the likes of Halle Berry, who has a $8.5million mansion complete with an outdoor jacuzzi which she occasionally shows off on Instagram. The 57-year-old former Bond Girl’s 5,000 square-foot pad sports four bedrooms each with a private balcony, and five bathrooms, while the actress’ bedroom of choice features stunning sea views.
Lady Gaga also owns a sprawling Malibu mansion – the same property where Bradley Cooper offered her the starring role of Ally in A Star Is Born, which she went on to win an Oscar for. The singer purchased the six-acre property in 2014 for a cool $24 million, with the palatial Mediterranean-style home overlooking Zuma Beach from a clifftop vantage point. But apocalyptic scenes have broken out in the beachside city, with water and mud running down the streets in some areas despite ginormous sandbags being used to prevent landslides.
Dramatic images show Malibu Pier being battered by strong waves on Sunday with the usual surfers and swimmers who swarm the shores nowhere to be seen. More than half a million homes in California were struck by power outages, and one man has reportedly died in Sacramento Valley after he was crushed by a toppled tree. At least 566, 502 households in the state suffered power cuts as of Monday morning, according to national tracker poweroutage.us. Downpours of up to 1 inch every hour could impact Los Angeles for a least 24 hours over Monday, forecasters have warned. The severe conditions prompted the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Bay Area office to issue a rare hurricane-force wind warning for Big Sur and nearby areas. Residents have been urged to ‘protect life’ and to stay home wherever possible.
David Gomes, 82, died after he was struck by a large redwood tree in Yuba City, northern California, on Sunday night, per ABC10. Meanwhile, in San Bernardino County, first responders rescued three people from a vehicle after it was deluged by surrounding floodwater during the night on Sunday. Dramatic footage shows a team using lifeboat rafts to approach the vehicle before helping the occupants escape to dry land. LA firefighters have also rescued 16 people from their homes on Lockridge Road, Studio City, after a debris flow caused ‘significant damage’ to nine properties. Department of Building and Safety is on scene evaluating the situation, the department said.
The rain canceled the final round of the professional golf tournament at Pebble Beach in Northern California’s Monterey County. Because heavy rain was forecast for Monday, the PGA Tour ended the event after only three days, naming Wyndham Clark the winner. California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in eight counties with a combined population of more than 20 million people, and flash flood warnings were issued for parts of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. ‘This has the potential to be a historic storm, severe winds, thunderstorms, and even brief tornadoes,’ Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told a news conference.
Los Angeles experienced its 10th wettest day on record on Sunday – and the downtown region alone was deluged with 4.1 inches of rain. The San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County were not only getting drenched but the storm was expected to stall or reverse course over some areas into Tuesday, creating severe risk of flooding and mudslides.
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