Two-Year-Old Killed In Storm

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an 10, 2005 10:30 am US/Pacific
LOS ANGELES (AP) A toddler who slipped from her mother's grasp as they were being rescued from a swollen wash in Palmdale was found dead Monday as California braced for a fifth day of torrential rain. The storm has killed at least nine, forced evacuations, halted train service, closed schools, swamped freeways and knocked out power to thousands.

The wet weather wasn't expected to let up until Wednesday, with isolated thunderstorms bringing as much as 6 inches of rain through Tuesday and an additional 2 feet of snow at elevations above 7,500 feet. Dense fog and 25-mph winds were also forecast.

"We're going to be getting more of the same harsh weather," said Curt Kaplan, a National Weather Service forecaster.

The storm system was to blame for at least nine deaths, including a man killed when his vehicle plunged into the surf off Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, a 43-year-old homeless man buried alive by a mudslide and another man washed away by a bulging river near Ventura County's Ojai area.

In Palmdale, a 2-year-old girl fell from her mother's arms as rescuers lifted them from their vehicle, which became stuck in a flooded wash Sunday night, said sheriff's Lt. Don Ford. The toddler was located early Monday in the wash and pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. The woman, who was not immediately identified, had driven around barricades.