Sinkhole Swallows Cars in LA County

Amid California's wild weather, a sinkhole opened up during one of the downpours in Los Angeles County, swallowing two cars. The sinkhole opened up around 7:30pm Monday in Chatsworth, and by the time firefighters arrived, it was already 15 feet deep, with heavy rainfall causing it to grow by the minute, Fox News reports. Two vehicles were trapped inside, one on top of the other, and the two people in the top vehicle, a pickup truck, were able to exit with no assistance. A mother and daughter, however, were trapped in the lower vehicle, which, the LA Fire Department battalion chief says, started to "sink and roll" as water continued to flow into the hole.

A crew member was lowered into the hole using rope and an aerial ladder, hoisting the woman and child to safety, where they were taken to a hospital with minor injuries. Further north, 15 homes were damaged by a sinkhole in Santa Barbara County, the AP reports. It's been a long run of storms and rain in the state, and while the latest storm, which started Monday, was easing in some areas Tuesday, more rain was predicted Wednesday in Northern California (where the entire San Francisco Bay Area had been under a flood watch Tuesday), and another storm system is predicted for Friday through Tuesday. The AP has more on the mudslides, flooding, power outages and other problems here. (More California stories.)