Heavy rains and strong winds from a series of powerful winter storms this week brought the wettest Christmas season to Southern California in years, triggering widespread mudslides and debris flows and leaving homes halfway filled with mud.

Rains were expected to ease around Los Angeles Friday afternoon, but there was still a risk of more flash flooding and mudslides, the National Weather Service warned. More than 100 people were rescued on Thursday night by Los Angeles County firefighters, with one helicopter pulling 21 people from stranded cars, officials said.