The deadly flash flood along Texas’ Guadalupe River showed the devastating toll such a disaster can take, and California could face similar dangers when extreme weather strikes. Low-lying areas along rivers and creeks can be hazardous when downpours and torrents come, as shown by past floods in parts of the state including the Los Angeles area, the Central Valley and the Central Coast. When a series of extreme winter storms hit California in 2023, about two dozen people died statewide, including some who were swept away by floodwaters and others who were killed by a rock slide, falling trees or car crashes. … In a 2022 study, researchers, including UC Irvine’s [Brett] Sanders, estimated that up to 874,000 people and $108 billion in property could be affected by a 100-year flood in the Los Angeles Basin, revealing larger risks than previously estimated by federal emergency management officials.

Other flood risk news:

• San Francisco Chronicle: Deadly Texas flood: Could California face a similar disaster?
• KGO (San Francisco): Could California see Texas-level flash flooding? Experts say ‘Yes’​
• KTVU (Oakland, Calif.): Can a Texas size flood hit California? It already has, several times​