LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Residents of fire-scarred foothill communities near Los Angeles, some still digging out from a deluge of mud over the weekend, were told to evacuate their homes on Tuesday as another strong storm hit the region.

Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders for 527 homes north of Los Angeles, where mudslides damaged or destroyed dozens of houses in upscale neighborhoods of La Canada-Flintridge early on Saturday morning.

The National Weather Service has forecast that Tuesday’s storm, the latest in what has so far been a very wet winter for typically sunny Southern California, could bring heavy showers and thunderstorms with up to 2 inches of rainfall.

Flash-flood warnings were issued for areas left blackened and barren of vegetation by last summer’s massive Station Fire, and evacuation centers were set up at a nearby church and community center.

LOS ANGELES, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Residents of fire-scarred foothill communities near Los Angeles, some still digging out from a deluge of mud over the weekend, were told to evacuate their homes on Tuesday as another strong storm hit the region.

Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders for 527 homes north of Los Angeles, where mudslides damaged or destroyed dozens of houses in upscale neighborhoods of La Canada-Flintridge early on Saturday morning.

The National Weather Service has forecast that Tuesday’s storm, the latest in what has so far been a very wet winter for typically sunny Southern California, could bring heavy showers and thunderstorms with up to 2 inches (5 cm) of rainfall.

Flash-flood warnings were issued for areas left blackened and barren of vegetation by last summer’s massive Station Fire, and evacuation centers were set up at a nearby church and community center.

LOS ANGELES, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Residents of fire-scarred foothill communities near Los Angeles, some still digging out from a deluge of mud over the weekend, were told to evacuate their homes on Tuesday as another strong storm hit the region. Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders for 527 homes north of Los Angeles, where mudslides damaged or destroyed dozens of houses in upscale neighborhoods of La Canada-Flintridge early on Saturday morning. The National Weather Service has forecast that Tuesday’s storm, the latest in what has so far been a very wet winter for typically sunny Southern California, could bring heavy showers and thunderstorms with up to 2 inches (5 cm) of rainfall. Flash-flood warnings were issued for areas left blackened and barren of vegetation by last summer’s massive Station Fire, and evacuation centers were set up at a nearby church and community center. There were no deaths or serious injuries from Saturday’s mudslides, but residents said they had little warning before torrents of mud, rock and debris came crashing down in the early morning hours, carrying off cars and leaving behind a path of destruction. In all, 41 homes suffered moderate to heavy damage, with nine dwellings tagged by inspectors as uninhabitable. Authorities have since worked furiously to clear the mud-choked streets, scoop out catch basins and erect barriers, but they warned that the hillsides remained saturated and dangerously unstable after the string of storms. The damaging storms also have brought a measure of relief to drought-stricken California, dumping snow on mountain ranges that feed the state’s reservoirs. But water officials have so far stopped short of calling an official end to the drought. The statewide mountain snowpack was measured at 110 percent of normal as of Monday, according to a network of automatic sensors. (Editing by Steve Gorman and Eric Walsh)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – An ex-Boeing Co engineer, found guilty last year of passing space shuttle secrets to China in America’s first conviction under a 1996 espionage law, was sentenced on Monday to 15 years in prison.

Dongfan “Greg” Chung, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was convicted in July of economic espionage and acting as an agent for the People’s Republic of China.

In sentencing Chung to 188 months behind bars, U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney, who presided over the 10-day trial in Santa Ana, California, said he wanted to send a signal to China to “stop sending your spies here,” according to prosecutors.

Chung, 73, the first person convicted at trial under the Economic Espionage Act, told the judge he was innocent.

LOS ANGELES, Feb 8 (Reuters) – An ex-Boeing Co <BA.N> engineer, found guilty last year of passing space shuttle secrets to China in America’s first conviction under a 1996 espionage law, was sentenced on Monday to 15 years in prison.

Dongfan “Greg” Chung, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was convicted in July of economic espionage and acting as an agent for the People’s Republic of China.

In sentencing Chung to 188 months behind bars, U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney, who presided over the 10-day trial in Santa Ana, California, said he wanted to send a signal to China to “stop sending your spies here,” according to prosecutors.

Chung, 73, the first person convicted at trial under the Economic Espionage Act, told the judge he was innocent.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Mudslides touched off by torrential rains poured down onto upscale neighborhoods in the fire-scarred foothills above Los Angeles on Saturday, damaging dozens of homes and destroying some of them.

No deaths or serious injuries were reported, but residents had little or no warning when a wall of mud, rock and debris came crashing down sometime after 4 a.m. PST, carrying off crushed cars and leaving a path of destruction.

“It was like an airplane landing on your house, there was no way out,” a tearful woman, who did not give her name, told the local CBS television affiliate. She was wearing borrowed clothes because there had been no time to dress.

Authorities worked to clear the mud-choked streets and ordered more than 500 homes evacuated because more rain was expected through Saturday night and, with catch basins full, the hillsides remained dangerously unstable.

LOS ANGELES, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Mudslides touched off by torrential rains poured down onto upscale neighborhoods in the fire-scarred foothills above Los Angeles on Saturday, damaging dozens of homes and destroying some of them. No deaths or serious injuries were reported, but residents had little or no warning when a wall of mud, rock and debris came crashing down sometime after 4 a.m. PST/1200 GMT, carrying off crushed cars and leaving a path of destruction. "It was like an airplane landing on your house, there was no way out," a tearful woman, who did not give her name, told the local CBS television affiliate. She was wearing borrowed clothes because there had been no time to dress. Authorities worked to clear the mud-choked streets and ordered more than 500 homes evacuated because more rain was expected through Saturday night and, with catch basins full, the hillsides remained dangerously unstable. In all, 41 homes suffered moderate to heavy damage, a Los Angeles County Fire spokesman said. Five were tagged by inspectors as uninhabitable and an additional seven were inundated with mud and rock. The worst came in the foothill community of La Canada-Flintridge, where last summer’s massive Station Fire wildfire destroyed trees and vegetation. Authorities said that along one street there, at least 30 homes sustained at least some damage from a river of mud that rushed down streets. At one house a back yard swimming pool was filled with mud, debris and furniture from the house, including a couch, while a diving board stuck out over the mess. "There are mounds and mounds of dirt piled into homes and cars have been covered up and gone into homes," Los Angeles County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Nicole Nishida told Reuters from the scene. The cars "look like toys scattered across the road," she said. A high school was set up as an evacuation center. But many residents said despite rain falling at up to one inch (2.5 cm) per hour on Friday night, they had not been warned or advised to evacuate, as they had during past storms. Elsewhere in the Los Angeles area, flooding forced the closure of streets and at least one major freeway. A rockslide shut down a major road through the exclusive seaside community of Malibu. In Hollywood, a sinkhole opened in an intersection along the famed Sunset Strip. The National Weather Service issued a high surf advisory for beaches across Los Angeles and Ventura County, forecasting waves up to 8 feet (2.5 metres), beach erosion and rip tides. (Additional reporting by Steve Gorman; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

LOS ANGELES, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Mudslides touched off by torrential rains poured down onto upscale neighborhoods in the fire-scarred foothills above Los Angeles on Saturday, damaging dozens of homes and destroying some of them.

No deaths or serious injuries were reported, but residents had little or no warning when a wall of mud, rock and debris came crashing down sometime after 4 a.m. PST/1200 GMT, carrying off crushed cars and leaving a path of destruction.

“It was like an airplane landing on your house, there was no way out,” a tearful woman, who did not give her name, told the local CBS television affiliate. She was wearing borrowed clothes because there had been no time to dress.

Authorities worked to clear the mud-choked streets and ordered more than 500 homes evacuated because more rain was expected through Saturday night and, with catch basins full, the hillsides remained dangerously unstable.

LOS ANGELES, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Mudslides touched off by torrential rains poured down onto upscale neighborhoods in the fire-scarred foothills above Los Angeles on Saturday, damaging dozens of homes and destroying some of them. No deaths or serious injuries were reported, but residents had little or no warning when a wall of mud, rock and debris came crashing down sometime after 4 a.m. PST/1200 GMT, carrying off crushed cars and leaving a path of destruction. "It was like an airplane landing on your house, there was no way out," a tearful woman, who did not give her name, told the local CBS television affiliate. She was wearing borrowed clothes because there had been no time to dress. Authorities worked to clear the mud-choked streets and ordered more than 500 homes evacuated because more rain was expected through Saturday night and, with catch basins full, the hillsides remained dangerously unstable. In all, 41 homes suffered moderate to heavy damage, a Los Angeles County Fire spokesman said. Five were tagged by inspectors as uninhabitable and an additional seven were inundated with mud and rock. The worst came in the foothill community of La Canada-Flintridge, where last summer’s massive Station Fire wildfire destroyed trees and vegetation. Authorities said that along one street there, at least 30 homes sustained at least some damage from a river of mud that rushed down streets. At one house a back yard swimming pool was filled with mud, debris and furniture from the house, including a couch, while a diving board stuck out over the mess. "There are mounds and mounds of dirt piled into homes and cars have been covered up and gone into homes," Los Angeles County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Nicole Nishida told Reuters from the scene. The cars "look like toys scattered across the road," she said. A high school was set up as an evacuation center. But many residents said despite rain falling at up to one inch (2.5 cm) per hour on Friday night, they had not been warned or advised to evacuate, as they had during past storms. Elsewhere in the Los Angeles area, flooding forced the closure of streets and at least one major freeway. A rockslide shut down a major road through the exclusive seaside community of Malibu. In Hollywood, a sinkhole opened in an intersection along the famed Sunset Strip. The National Weather Service issued a high surf advisory for beaches across Los Angeles and Ventura County, forecasting waves up to 8 feet (2.5 metres), beach erosion and rip tides. (Additional reporting by Steve Gorman; editing by Mohammad Zargham)

LOS ANGELES, Feb 6 (Reuters) – Mudslides destroyed at least two homes and badly damaged a number of others on Saturday in foothills surrounding Los Angeles as a fierce winter storm pounded Southern California.

Authorities said a wall of mud and debris at least several feet high rumbled down a hillside in the community of La Canada-Flintridge, crashing into homes and cars and leaving a path of destruction in its wake.

There were no reports of deaths or injuries but residents were being told to leave as another heavy downpour was expected by early Saturday afternoon.

“There are mounds and mounds of dirt piled into homes and cars have been covered up and gone into homes,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Nicole Nishida told Reuters by telephone from the scene.