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In pictures: Mudslides cause chaos in California

News imageGetty Images Rescuers on roof of house buried by mudslide in California. 10 Jan 2018Getty Images
Rescue workers are still searching for survivors after a deadly mudslide destroyed homes in Montecito, southern California
News imageGetty Images Rescue worker surveys debris after deadly mudslide in California. 10 Jan 2018Getty Images
A wall of mud after torrential rain swept through the small town.
News imageGetty Images Abandoned car after mudslide in California. 10 Jan 2018Getty Images
Montecito is strewn with debris and conditions for rescue teams are said to be dangerous.
News imageEPA Firefighters rescue a girl after she was trapped inside a destroyed home during heavy rains in Montecito, California.EPA
Dozens of people have been rescued so far and more than 160 have been taken to hospital
News imageEPA US Highway 101 at the Olive Mill Road overpass flooded with runoff water from Montecito Creek and blocked with mudflow and debris following heavy rains in Montecito, California.EPA
The first rain in months hit ground that had been scorched by December's wildfires. The fires had created a water repellent layer over the soil.
News imageAFP Mud fills the interior of a car destroyed in a rain-driven mudslide in a neighbourhood under mandatory evacuation in Burbank, California.AFP
In some places the mud was waist-deep, and police said the scene "looked like a World War One battlefield".
News imageEPA An emergency vehicle makes its way through mud on Highway 101 after heavy rains caused deadly mudslides in Montecito, California.EPA
More than 30 miles (48km) of the main coastal road have been closed and many places are still inaccessible.
News imageEPA A car is piled up in debris after a mudslide trapped it following heavy rains in Montecito, California.EPA
Thousands had to flee their homes, many for the second time in two months after the wildfires. Some houses were knocked off their foundations.
News imageAFP A bulldozer clears mud off the road near a flooded section of US Highway 101 near the San Ysidro exit in Montecito, California.AFP
The mudslides follow the costliest year on record for climate-related disaster in the US with fires, floods and hurricanes costing $306bn (£226bn) in 2017.