Los Angeles faces flood warning amid heavy storms

A man carries sand bags from Long Beach as heavy rain showers and strong winds pound southern California

Residents have collected sandbags from the beach to secure their homes

An estimated 800 homes in the Los Angeles area remain evacuated under threat of mudslides as storms cause renewed transport chaos and power cuts.

Flash flood warnings have been put in place with hills saturated, Los Angeles County officials said.

Torrential rains and waves as high as 25ft (7.6m) have eroded beaches and flooded low-lying roads.

A run of four storms has been the worst in southern California since 2005, officials say, causing two deaths.

Authorities went door-to-door ahead of Thursday's storm urging residents to leave the area as a precaution.

The stability of hillsides north of Los Angeles remains a concern, as the ground was stripped bare of vegetation by wildfires last summer.

There were warning to those who refused to leave that landslides could be serious and rescuers would struggle to make much progress.

"For those people that are still in the homes and are in those areas of threat, it's very likely we will not be able to reach you," said John Tripp, of the Los Angeles County fire department.

However, the majority of residents were following evacuation orders, a fire department spokeswoman added.

As well as residents, wildlife in the area is also being affected: 25 California brown pelicans are being treated for hypothermia due to the incessant rain, AFP reported.

The rain has prevented the birds from getting dry, weakening their immune systems, said Paul Kelway, a spokesman for the International Bird Rescue Research Centre.