Plucked from the surging river engorged by the 'Pineapple Express': Husband and wife rescued from floods after 'river of rain' triggers mudslides consuming dozens of homes on the West Coast

A drowning woman and her husband were saved from a raging Los Angeles river swollen by a devastating storm which has ravaged Southern California.

The pair were saved from the river after firefighters battled the torrent to bring them onto dry land, where they were whisked away for treatment.

It comes after mudslides damaged dozens of homes and have forced hundreds of people to evacuate across two towns in Southern California that were previously ravaged by wildfires - as the most powerful storm in five years pummels the west coast.

Mud clogged up homes and rocks filled streets across Camarillo Springs, where mandatory evacuations have been ordered for 124 homes, Captain Don Aguilar of the Ventura County Sheriff's Office said. The mudslide hit the area around 2am Friday. 

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To the rescue: A Los Angeles Fire Department worker drags himself along a rope towards a drowning couple in the engorged river

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Stretchered away: Rescuers crowd round the woman after she was pulled from the raging Los Angeles river Friday

The river rescue came Friday morning as rescue workers fought to contain the worst effects of the natural disaster. A rescuer in blue shimmied along a rope set up over the river to pluck out the imperiled pair, the LA Times reported.

After the man, who had hypothermia, was rescued he told them that his wife was still stuck. Rescuers were able to head inside and save her too - though the couple's current condition is unknown. 

In the worst-affected areas, streets were filled will rocks after debris flow brushed aside barriers set up on a nearby slope and surrounded about a dozen homes with silt, sticks, roots and rocks as large as couches. Outside some homes, rocks piled so high that they reached the second story level, making doors impossible to open.

Aguilar said authorities are still assessing the scope of the damage, but no injuries have been reported in the area burned by a huge wildfire last year.  

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Covered: At least eight houses were blocked by massive rocks that fell on Camarillo Springs, California in a mudslide on Friday

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Covered: A worker stands atop a pile of rock and mud hours after the rocks were moved by heavy rain in the area on Friday

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Uprooted: People were evacuated from 124 homes in the county to escape the mudslide, and no injuries were reported

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Through the floods: Jessica Avila, left, and Socorro Vasquez make their way through the flooded Le Mar Trailer Park in Redwood City, California on Thursday

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Destroyed: Homeowner Elton Gallegly walks through his home on Friday after a mud slide came down on his neighborhood overnight

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Destroyed: The inside of a home can be seen in San Como Lane in Camarillo Springs following the devastating mudslide

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Ruined: A house is filled with mud and rocks after the early-morning mudslide following heavy rains across the West Coast

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Overwhelming: Resident Tom Pilther (right) is helped by a relative as they place sand bags next to his home that just escaped the slide

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Shock: Residents walk along a street after a mudslide overtook at least homes during heavy rains in Camarillo Springs

One of the homes is owned by former Congressman Elton Gallegly.

'There's a lot of memories there,' he told KTTV-TV, gesturing to his now-inaccessible house.

Farther east in Glendora, the site of the devastating Colby Fire in January, police Lieutenant Matt Williams said debris flow is sending golf- and brick-size rocks down streets. It is not yet clear how many people fled their homes but no injuries or damage to homes have been reported yet. 

Firefighters were moving door-to-door to check homes and to encourage residents who ignored evacuation orders, while an ABC7 Los Angeles reporter tweeted that a local senior community was under mud and rocks. 

A homeowners association in Camarillo, which is about 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles, had hired a construction crew to move debris - but the muck buried one of the earth movers.

Red Cross spokesman Tom Horan says 40 people displaced by the slide have come to an evacuation center, and two were taken to the hospital. He says their medical issues aren't serious.  

Avalanches of mud and debris also blocked part of the Pacific Coast Highway in Ventura County, weather service specialist Stuart Seto said. Street and freeway flooding snarled morning rush-hour traffic and triggered numerous accidents. 

The mudslides come as a major storm pummeled the Pacific northwest and California with heavy rain and high winds, killing at least two people, and knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes. 

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Taken away: The almost-drowned woman was taken for further care on a stretcher after the near-death ordeal

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Surveying the damage: A Ventura County Sheriff Deputy stands on a huge rock slide that damaged the homes in the Ventura County town

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Destroyed: Ventura County Sheriff deputy Joe Gallante walks with homeowner Elton Gallegly (left) after a rock and mud slide came down

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Buried: Earth moving equipment is buried by debris in Camarillo Springs. The homeowners association hired a construction crew to move debris, but the muck buried one of the earth movers as a powerful storm moved through the area

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Massive task: A work crew uses a backhoe to clean-up after a rock slide damaged more than a dozen homes in Ventura County

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Miserable: Homeowner Amanda Heinlein stands on a mud landslide covering a basketball court near her house in Azusa, California

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Cleared: A fire truck makes its way down a semi-cleared street as residents survey homes affected by a mud and rock slide on Friday

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Heading out: Residents leave their mud and rock damaged community after the huge rock slide in Camarillo on Friday

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Stuck: A fireman surveys homes swamped by thick mud in Camarillo following the early-morning slide

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Threatening: This NOAA satellite image taken at 1pm on Friday shows a large storm system over the Pacific Northwest

Much of drought-stricken California has been battered with rain and winds since Thursday morning, and The National Weather Service in Monterey said Monday the storm is 'expected to be one of the strongest storms in terms of wind and rain intensity' since storms in October 2009 and January 2008.

In Oregon the 80mph winds proved deadly, with a teenage boy killed when a large tree fell on the vehicle he was travelling in, causing it to swerve and hit a tree. A homeless man camping in a tent was also killed by a falling tree.

As well as the two killed, a man in southwest Washington state, and a sixth-grader at an elementary school in Santa Cruz, California, were injured by falling trees. 

In Washaway Beach, Washington, houses were ripped away by rising tides, with owners rushing to save any belongings they could.    

Widely scattered power outages left about 50,000 customers of Southern California Edison and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power without electricity, spokesmen for the utilities said. 

While the sun rose Friday to dry skies over San Francisco, the storm's affects lingered in Northern California.

In Sonoma County, the Russian River was approaching flood stage Friday morning and was expected to crest several feet above it by early afternoon. Officials advised residents of about 300 homes to evacuate low-lying areas. 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2871854/Mudslides-damage-dozens-homes-Southern-California-powerful-storm-five-years-pummels-West-Coast.html#ixzz3LwWJVHBi
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Season’s cheatings: baking easy party pieces

Preparing a festive spread can really take the merry out of merrymaking – dodge the stress with celebratory bakes that are easy to prepare but impressive enough to place before guests

Perfect party food without the pressure: a clementine and pine nut couronne (left) and cheese and chive scone bites. Photograph: Jill Mead/Guardian

It’s in party season that our pride most swells and suffers: the anticipation of great spreads of salads and trays laden with canapes served with superlative hosting skills collapses when the souffles sink and the soup goes cold.

My flatmates and I hosted a party a couple of weeks ago where, for the first hour of the gathering, and with our guests in limbo in the front room, we were still scrambling to piece together a spread. The result wasn’t the “rustic Iranian feast” we’d envisaged but a duo of wilted salads and two bowls of crisps, and guests trickled in to the smell of burning and spilt wine. It’s a cautionary tale. Don’t bite off more than you can chew this festive season. Here are a couple of simple bakes: easy to prepare, no fuss to serve, but impressive nonetheless.

Clementine and pine nut couronne

This fragrant, orange-glazed crown is a fine centrepiece for a celebration, and despite its intricate layering, not too difficult to make and shape. Just have a pair of helping hands join in when it comes to the delicate plaiting stage and you’ll have no problems.

Makes one large couronne, serving 8–10
320g strong white flour
7g instant dried yeast
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp soft light-brown sugar

 

 

200ml whole milk, lukewarm
1 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 2 clementines
30g unsalted butter, softened

For the filling
60g unsalted butter, softened
75g soft light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 3 clementines
A pinch of salt
75g pine nuts, toasted in the oven at 180C/350F/gas mark 4 for 5-7 minutes, until darkened a shade

To glaze
100g icing sugar
1-2 tbsp clementine juice

1 Combine the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk the milk, vanilla extract and zest together then add this mixture to the dry ingredients along with the butter. Mix well then tip the dough on to a clean surface and knead lightly for a couple of minutes – just until it’s slightly smoother and less sticky. It’s best not to knead this dough too much as this makes it harder to roll it out later. Return the dough to the mixing bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to rise at room temperature until doubled in size – about 1–1½ hours.

2 Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Beat the butter with the sugar, vanilla extract, zest and salt until spreadable and perfectly smooth.

3 Roll the risen dough out to a rectangle about 45x20cm on a floured work surface. The dough might shrink back as you roll it, but just persevere until it stays at the right size. Spread the filling mixture thinly over the dough then scatter with the toasted pine nuts. Roll up tightly from long edge to long edge, to create a roll of dough about 45cm long.

A (moving) picture is worth a thousand words: step 4.

4 It can be helpful to have an extra pair of helping hands ready at this tricky stage. First transfer the roll of dough to a large baking tray. Using a sharp knife, cut right through the dough along the length of the roll, almost completely halving it but stopping just before one end, to leave the two halves barely attached. Now, keeping the cut sides of the dough strands facing upwards at all times to keep the filling inside as it bakes, cross the strands alternately over one another, starting at the end where they join. Repeat until the two strands are plaited along their entire length, with the cut sides facing upwards throughout. Curve this plait round into a circle shape. Don’t worry if the strands splay open a little as you work – just press them back into shape. Cut through the final piece of dough where the two strands were still joined and attach to the other end of the loop, pressing gently to secure the dough into a continuous circle.

5 Leave the dough to prove at room temperature for 45–60 minutes, or until around 1½ times its original size. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 while you wait. Bake the risen couronne for 30 minutes in the preheated oven until golden and fragrant. Leave to cool completely on its tray.

6 Whisk the icing sugar with enough clementine juice to give an icing just thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle all over the cooled couronne.

Cheese and chive scone bites

These are smaller than normal scones, and so rich with molten cheese that there’s no need to split them or bother with the hassle of providing knives, butter and condiments. Just serve them as they are, still warm from the oven and enjoy in a couple of quick, greedy bites.

Makes 24-30
40g butter
300g plain flour
4 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
150g cheddar, coarsely grated
50g parmesan, finely grated
25g chives, finely chopped
150ml milk
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 egg, lightly beaten, to glaze

1 Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Rub the butter into the flour until no visible chunks of butter remain. Stir in the baking powder, salt, cheeses and chives. In a separate bowl, whisk the milk and mustard together then add this to the dry ingredients. Mix gently together – you want to avoid kneading the dough or working it any more than is necessary, otherwise the dough will toughen and the resulting scones will be heavy.

2 As soon as the ingredients come together to form a shaggy, slightly sticky dough, stop mixing. Tip the dough out on to a well-floured work surface and pat it gently to 2cm thick. Use a small round pastry cutter – no bigger than 4cm diameter – to cut circles out. Dust the pastry cutter with flour ifyou find it sticking to the dough. Gather offcuts, lightly pat together and repeat.

3 Arrange the dough circles over a couple of baking trays. Brush the tops of the scones with a little egg wash, taking care not to let the glaze run down the sides. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. When done, the scones should be well-risen, golden and firm to the touch. Leave to cool and firm for 10 minutes or so. Best eaten while still slightly warm from the oven.

Pharaoh’s statue restored 3,200 years after collapse in earthquake

The twin Memnon colossi show Amenhotep III seated. Photograph: Hassan Ammar/AP

Archaeologists have unveiled a restored statue of Amenhotep III that was toppled in an earthquake more than 3,000 years ago at Egypt’s temple city of Luxor.

The statue was re-erected at the northern gate of the king’s funerary temple on the west bank of the Nile. The temple is already famous for its 3,400-year-old Memnon colossi – twin statues of Amenhotep III, whose reign archaeologists say marked the political and cultural zenith of ancient Egyptian civilisation.

The 12.9-metre (43ft) statue unveiled on Sunday stands west of another effigy of the king, also depicting him walking, which was unveiled in March. “These are up to now the highest standing effigies of an Egyptian king in striding attitude,” said German-Armenian archaeologist Hourig Sourouzian, who heads the project to conserve the temple. The twin Memnon colossi are 21 metres tall but show the pharaoh seated.

The restored statue now stands again for the first time since its collapse 3,200 years ago, Sourouzian said. Consisting of 89 large pieces and numerous small fragments and reassembled since November, the monolith weighs 110 tonnes. It had lain broken in pieces after an earthquake in 1200BC, Sourouzian said.

The statue shows the king wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt, and each hand holding a papyrus roll inscribed with his name. His belt, holding a dagger with a falcon-head handle, is fastened with a rectangular clasp bearing the names of the king.

Pharaoh Amenhotep III inherited an empire that stretched from the Euphrates to Sudan, archaeologists say. The 18th dynasty ruler became king aged around 12, with his mother as regent. Amenhotep III died in around 1354BC and was succeeded by his son Amenhotep IV, widely known as Akhenaten.

Paris attempts to reclaim council homes from wealthy, well-connected tenants

Many properties in French capital’s most exclusive areas were reportedly given to politicians and their friends many years ago

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo says she is determined to free up more council housing.Photograph: Stephane De Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

Paris city authorities are attempting to wrest back control of thousands of council-owned homes, many of them in the French capital’s most exclusive areas, that have been let for decades at below market rents to wealthy and well-connected tenants.

Some of the apartments were reportedly given to politicians, their family members and friends more than 30 years ago by the city’s then centre-right mayors.

With property prices and rents rising to beyond the reach of ordinary Parisians, the Socialist mayor, Anne Hidalgo, is determined to free up more council housing.

As well as a pledge to build more council homes, an audit has been carried out of 39,000 properties, owned and maintained by City Hall, known as “free rent” housing and outside official control.

Officials say it is impossible to establish exact figures but they believe up to 30% of the homes are occupied by tenants with incomes that disqualify them for local authority housing.

The city of Paris seen from Notre Dame cathedral. Photograph: Julian Elliott/Getty Images/Robert Harding World Imagery

Ian Brossat, city deputy mayor in charge of housing, told the Guardian: “This is a bizarre situation where these properties are not technically part of the social housing stock. We have applied to get back 3,400 of them this year and we will continue until all 39,000 are under our control. We are targeting those in the more chic areas of Paris because that is where we believe there is the most abuse.

“We are determined about this. It is not a witch-hunt but we have to make the occupation of these properties more moral.”

Having signed open-ended rental agreements, the tenants have a legal – if not moral – right to occupy their council homes. However, Paris officials say there is a minority abusing the system, pointing out that before 2001, when Hidalgo’s predecessor, Bertrand Delanoë, was elected mayor, the allocation of social housing was “opaque”. Many sought-after apartments were given to politicians, VIPs and their children.

Among those cited as not being eligible for council housing is retired banker Jérôme Chodron, brother-in-law of former president and Paris mayor Jacques Chirac, who occupies a spacious apartment in the expensive fourth arrondissement for what Le Parisien described as a derisory rent.

Flats in one of the pricier areas of Paris, with view of the Eiffel Tower. Photograph: Alamy

Virginie Merle, better known as Frigide Barjot, founder of the anti-same-sex marriage movement La Manif pour tous (Demos for all), was recently forced to leave her 173m2 flat with a terrace near the Eiffel Tower, which was reportedly allocated to her because her husband was a speechwriter for the leader of the country’s centre-right political party.

Brossat said the current city administration was trying to put right the questionable practices of the past.

“We have 170,000 people seeking social housing and the greater the need, the greater the need for exemplary behaviour. We cannot allow this situation to continue,” Brossat said.

A former housing official during Chirac’s tenure as mayor of Paris between 1977 and 1995 said social housing became a property portfolio for friends.

“The best apartments in the centre and west of Paris were reserved in the mayor’s office,” the unnamed former official told Le Parisien. “The big thing was when the buildings were under construction and people came to choose their apartment from the plans.”

Centre-right critics accused the city authorities of “chasing the middle classes from Paris”. Philippe Goujon, UMP mayor of the chic 15th arrondissement, said: “It’s not realistic … it’s a political manoeuvre.”

Goujon added: “The Socialists didn’t miss out on being housed by the city and neither did the Communists and those from the Front de Gauche.”

Jean-Baptiste Ayraud, head of Droit au Logement (Right to Housing) agreed, saying some tenants thought they were untouchable.

“The fact is they can become millionaires and continue to live in a home built out of public money when there are already 140,000 people in Paris needing council houses who are suffering.”

Revolutionary war-era time capsule found in Massachusetts state house

Massachusetts officials work to remove a time capsule embedded in the cornerstone of the State House in Boston on Thursday. Photograph: Elise Amendola/AP

Crews worked carefully on Thursday to remove a time capsule dating back to 1795 from the granite cornerstone of the Massachusetts statehouse, where historians believe it was originally placed by Revolutionary war luminaries Samuel Adams and Paul Revere among others.

The time capsule is believed to contain items such as old coins and newspapers, but the condition of the contents was not known and the Massachusetts secretary of state, William Galvin, speculated that some could have deteriorated over time.

Originally made of cowhide, the time capsule was believed to have been embedded in the granite cornerstone of the building when construction on the state Capitol began in 1795. Adams was governor of Massachusetts at the time.

The time capsule was removed in the mid-19th century and its contents transferred to a copper box, Galvin said.

Paul Revere, American patriot and silversmith, is believed to be among those who placed the time capsule. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

It is being removed now because of an ongoing water filtration project at the building.

The time capsule will not be immediately opened but instead taken to Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, where it will be x-rayed to determine its contents.

Pamela Hatchfield, a conservator at the museum, slowly chiselled away at the cornerstone on Thursday to reach the box, a process that was expected to take several hours to complete. Galvin said the plan is to return it to the site sometime next year.

The excavation comes just months after another time capsule was uncovered from the Old State House, which served as the state’s first seat of government. That long-forgotten time capsule, dating to 1901, turned up in a lion statue atop the building and when opened, was found to contain a potpourri of well-preserved items including newspaper clippings, a book on foreign policy and a letter from journalists of the period.

Woman covered in 'fish scales' lives in excruciating pain due to disease which causes her skin to grow seven times faster than normal

Covered in 'fish scales', Nusrit Shaheen lives each day in agonising pain, the oldest survivor of a rare skin disease.

For the 30-year-old, each day is a battle. But she refuses to let her condition get in the way of living her life, playing sport and studying - determined to be a role model for children affected.

She suffers Harlequin Ichthyosis - an extremely rare genetic disorder which causes the skin to grow seven times faster than normal. 

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Nusrit Shaheen, 30, suffers Harlequin Ichthyosis, an extremely rare genetic disorder which affects around five babies a year in the UK. She is pictured with her nephew Hassan

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The extremely rare genetic disorder causes the skin to appear tight the development of thick plates of hard scales that resemble armour plating. The skin splits at several areas causing deep cracks. And a sufferer's face looks stretched with turned out lips and eyelids, and the ears, hands and feet may be hidden by scales

The skin appears tight, with thick plates of hard scales resembling armour plating or the harlequin suit of a jester.

The skin splits at several areas causing deep cracks. And a sufferer's face looks stretched with turned out lips and eyelids, and the ears, hands and feet may be hidden by scales.

Four of Miss Shaheen's siblings died from the disease at birth. And at 30 years old, she is thought to be Britain's oldest survivor.Last year she was hospitalised with a bacterial infection and prescribed antibiotics, which caused all her toenails to fall off.

And with the return of the cold weather, Miss Shaheen faces being confined to a wheelchair, as her skin stiffens up and cracks, restricting her ability to move.

'I've been in good health recently,' she said. 'It has its ups and downs.

'The cold weather really affects the condition so I'm braced for winter.

'My skin stiffens up when it's freezing so it can be really painful and tough to move.' 

Miss Shaheen, from Coventry, said she hopes she can be an example and inspiration to others who live in pain every day.

Babies born with Harlequin Icthyosis have diamond-shaped scales that can cause problems with the respiratory system and restrict their movement.

The cracks that appear in the skin can lead to dangerous infections, leaving sufferers bed-bound or hospitalised for weeks at a time.  

The condition, caused by a mutated gene carried by her parents, makes skin grow seven times faster than normal.

The extra skin needs to be removed constantly and ointment is also applied four or five times-a-day.

Miss Shaheen uses the moisturiser Hydromol and goes through three tubs of the over-the-counter cream every week.

She said: 'It's strange. It's exciting to be the oldest person to survive with this condition but at the same time a little bit scary. 

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Four of Miss Shaheen's siblings died from the disease at birth. And at 30 years old (pictured when she was younger) she is thought to be Britain's oldest survivor of the disease

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The condition, caused by a mutated gene carried by her parents, makes skin grow seven times faster than normal. The extra skin needs to be removed constantly and ointment is also applied four or five times-a-day

'I really want to show to young kids with this condition that you can grow up to a good age and you can do everything that you want to do in life.

'Just because you are born with this, it doesn't mean that it has to affect what you do with your life.

'Whenever I walk down the street, people stare, will make comments or they will laugh with their friends.

'I'm not bothered anymore. I have had to put up with this all my life so I've become used to it now.

'I usually ignore it, but if it gets to me then I'll say something or pull a face. That works.'

Whenever I walk down the street, people stare, will make comments or laugh with their friends. I'm not bothered anymore'

Miss Shaheen is in the final year of her level three sports diploma at Hereward College in Coventry and hopes to pass her driving test soon.

Despite her condition, the brave Coventry City and Manchester United supporter is not put off playing sport and loves athletics and football.

She keeps in contact with other sufferers of the ultra-rare condition that affects just 14 people in the UK using Facebook and via the Ichthyosis Support Group.

She has also appeared on ITV's This Morning and Channel 4 documentary 'Beauty and the Beast: The Ugly Face of Prejudice'.

Miss Shaheen added: 'It's hard for some people to understand my condition without seeing the effects for themselves.

'Not everyone understands. I always think that if you have a visual example then it is much better.' 

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Miss Shaheen (as a child) said: 'I really want to show to young kids with this condition that you can grow up to a good age and you can do everything that you want to do in life'