Large amounts of rain in January caused the Los Angeles River basin to overflow.
From December 27, 2004 through January 10, 2005, 16.97 in (431 mm) of rain fell on downtown Los Angeles, the wettest 15 day consecutive period on record.
The worst incident was a mudslide at La Conchita in Ventura County which destroyed 15 homes and killed 10 people.
[2] U.S. President George W. Bush declared a state of emergency in Southern California to assist in recovery from flood damages estimated at $300 million or more.
[4] The events and survivor accounts of the flood is featured on the first episode of the television series Full Force Nature on The Weather Channel titled "California Flooded River" and the seventh episode of the 2006 revival of World's Most Amazing Videos on Spike TV.