What are the current emergency conditions and safety impacts from the severe rainstorms affecting Southern California?

Southern California is experiencing dangerous flash flooding conditions due to torrential rainstorms, prompting widespread flash flood watches and mandatory evacuation orders. The severe weather has created life-threatening debris flows, dramatically demonstrated when an NBC News crew captured footage of a large mudslide sweeping a car off the road and into the ocean, though the driver—a fire department member—miraculously escaped with only minor injuries. The storms are particularly devastating for communities already recovering from last month's deadly wildfires. Mudslides have forced the closure of major roadways including Mulholland Drive, while thousands of residents in areas near the Pacific Palisades and Eaton fire burn scars remain under evacuation orders until this afternoon, highlighting the compounded vulnerability of fire-damaged areas to flooding.