LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The death toll from five days of torrential rain in Southern California reached 19 on Tuesday as authorities discovered more bodies and rescuers searched for survivors in tons of mud and debris that buried part of a coastal community.
Authorities attributed eight new deaths to the record-setting rain that began Friday and finally started giving way to sunny skies.
The latest victims included an unidentified man found wedged in a tree in Topanga Canyon; an 18-year-old woman crushed by a falling tree; a 35-year-old woman swept away by raging waters in San Bernardino County and a 79-year-old woman run over by her husband, who couldn't see her in the downpour.
National Weather Service forecaster Stuart Seto said some showers and thunderstorms were possible Tuesday afternoon but clear skies were expected by Wednesday.
``It looks pretty clear all the way through Martin Luther King Jr. Day,'' he said.
The rain turned normally mild Southern California into a giant flood zone. Forecasters said downtown Los Angeles recorded its wettest 15 consecutive days since officials began keeping such records in 1877. The previous high mark came in 1969 when 14.6 inches fell downtown.
In La Conchita, a small community of houses between the hills south of Santa Barbara and the Pacific Ocean, a massive landslide killed four people and left 14 injured. As many as 21 more people were unaccounted for despite a massive overnight rescue effort under giant floodlights.
Rescue crews plunged sensitive microphones into the muck then listened for any sounds of survivors. Joining the search was Jimmie Wallet, who said he had left his wife and three daughters to pick up ice cream when the slide hit.
His face and clothes were caked in mud after he dug for five hours in a desperate attempt to find his family.
``I know they've got to be there. I'm not going to stop,'' he said.
Despite the clearing skies, authorities warned new flooding was possible throughout the region as runoff spilled from dams and rain-swollen creeks.
In Orange County, sheriff's personnel evacuated about 2,000 people along a three-mile stretch of the San Juan Creek in San Juan Capistrano.
``It's sunny skies, but the streets are still flooded, and we're still in danger of runoff,'' said sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.
The storm shut down a large section of Highway 101 between Santa Barbara and Ventura. The stretch that runs past La Conchita was jammed with fire trucks, lights, generators and other emergency equipment.
In the mountain town of Piru about 20 miles away, about 400 people took shelter overnight at an elementary school after water began spilling over Santa Felicia Dam. Firefighters lifted the evacuation orders on Tuesday.
``As of now, it's looking good,'' said county fire Capt. Tom Retan.
At Corona Municipal Airport in Riverside County, swaths of mud covered much of the runway and several hangars were nearly submerged in water. Officials shut down the facility for landings and most takeoffs.
In nearby San Bernardino County, a sheriff's helicopter rescued a camper who became trapped over the weekend in a cave near Lytle Creek. The search had been complicated by heavy flooding and fog.
In San Dimas Canyon, firefighters used a raft to rescue an 8-week-old baby but it tipped over and flung everyone into the water. Two firefighters went into the rushing water after the baby, and one of them managed to carry the child to safety.
The baby's mother, Erica Henderson, told ABC's ``Good Morning America'' that despite her efforts to hoist him above her head, her son William swallowed water as they were being washed away together.
``I thought I was going to lose him at that point,'' she said. ``And I felt like if I pushed on his chest it would help. And it did. I pumped his chest with my hand and ... he spit up some water. He was still breathing.''
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