Terrifying video shows the moment a river of mud started coursing down a southern California street – as the death toll in the mudslides has been raised to 17.
The video was taken by local Marco Farrell, 45, who was hunkered down with his parents at their home in Montecito.
At the beginning of the clip, Farrell is seen yelling at a car driving up the street, telling the driver turn around because the flash flood is right in front of them.
Video shows the moment of wall of water came coursing down a southern California street overnight
The video was recorded by Marco Farrell, 45, who was staying with his parents at their home in Montecito
When he saw the wall of mud come racing down the street, Farrell sprinted back into the house and tried to secure it
He told his mother to wake his father up and get ready to leave the house
Luckily, Farrell and his parents survived the flood by hunkering down in a hallway near the back of the house
That’s when things get scary. As Farrell turns the camera up the street, a huge wall of mud and debris is seen charging down the street.
‘Oh my god, Mom!’ Farrell yells, before running back into the house. ‘Close the door!’
Once inside the house, Farrell starts walking around securing the home, and ordering his 71-year-old mom Gabrielle to wake up his dad, 81-year-old Olympian Jeff Farrell.
‘Get ready to go out! Wake dad up!’ he yells.
Farrell later spoke to ABC 7, saying they stood in thigh-high mud for more than an hour before escaping
The family propped their three-legged dog up on an empty TV box while they waited out the flood (their home is seen above)
Flood waters came up several feet up the side of the home
Farrell says that as they were waiting in the house, they heard logs, boulders and cars slam into the side of the home
Above, some of the boulders that were displaced in the mudslide overnight
Luckily, Farrell and his parents got out of the flood alive.
Farrell spoke to ABC 7 Thursday morning, saying they took shelter in a hallway at the back of the house, standing in thigh-high mud for more than an hour. They brought their three-legged dog Lucas with them, who they propped up on an empty TV box.
All the while, they braced as boulders, logs, and even cars crashed into the house.
‘The scariest thing was the sound,’ Farrell said. ‘It sounded like the scariest monster you ever heard, banging on your door.’
Above, a view of the family’s home in Montecito before the flood
Looking back, Farrell says he regrets not evacuating his parents.
‘There was a moment where I turned and apologized to my folks because I didn’t force them to evacuate. So there was a really emotional moment,’ he said.
During the wildfires last month, Farell looked over the house while his parents evacuated.
But this time, his father, who won two gold medals in swimming at the 1960 Olympics, decided to stay home with his wife.
‘There was evacuation fatigue from the fire,’ Farrell said. ‘I would have preferred for them to leave and in hindsight we should have left. I don’t know how I got lulled.’
On Wednesday, the death toll in the flash floods was raised to 17, with another 17 missing. The floodwaters and mudslides have also destroyed an estimated 100 homes.