CALIFORNIA – Heavy storms and landslides over the weekend of March 30 caused a portion of Highway 1 in the Big Sur area of California to collapse, stranding about 2,000 motorists, most of them tourists, overnight.

Officials with the California Department of Transportation said on X that a section of the highway, from Lime Creek to the north and Limekiln to the south, would remain closed, while crews worked on the affected areas.

On March 29, the officials said that a section, known as Ragged Point, was shuttered “due to slide activity north of this location”.

There were no reported injuries. The agency did not give an estimate of when it expected to reopen the highway.

On the afternoon of March 31, officials with the Monterey County Department of Emergency Management sent convoys with police escorts to get people out of the affected areas, said Mr Nicholas Pasculli, a spokesman for the county.

Many of those stranded were visitors who were driving through the area over the Easter holiday and had to sleep in temporary shelters, which were at 75 per cent capacity, Mr Pasculli said. Others stayed in local hotels, bed-and-breakfasts and campsites, and others slept in their cars, he added.

Another convoy is scheduled for April 1, in the morning, in case the crews are not able to reach everyone by the end of March 31, he said.

“We’re hoping we can get all the visitors out today. That’s our hope. That’s our goal,” Mr Pasculli said. “Suffice it to say, it’s a holiday weekend. You know, this area is a beautiful area, and people like to come visit.”

Monterey County issued a disaster declaration, and officials were urging people to avoid the highway.

“We’re asking everyone to stay away from that area to allow for safe passage of emergency personnel, emergency vehicles and essential workers,” Mr Pasculli said.

An unseasonably cold and vigorous storm system cut through the south-western Pacific Coast at the weekend, bringing rain, flash flooding and snow to parts of California and elsewhere.

A flood warning was in effect on March 31 in the San Diego area, as the storm continued to move along the coast before heading inland, forecasters said.

The rain was expected to continue with a chance of thunderstorms, the Los Angeles office of the National Weather Service wrote on March 31. NYTIMES