“No one thought it would ever get this bad,” said photographer Charlie Langella after documenting the deadly mudslides that hit Montecito in Santa Barbara County, California, on Tuesday. As of Friday morning, seventeen people were confirmed dead, with anywhere from five to forty-three missing as the Montecito sheriff’s office investigated reports.
“Just before sunset, I rode my bike as far as I could on Coast Village Road until the mud was too deep,” Langella reported. “The rest of the way I trekked through the mud while keeping my camera clicking, in awe of all the mud, debris, and destruction. Then the rain came again, adding to the water and mud. I was heartbroken to find out that the next morning the rescuers were pulling bodies out of the mud and wreckage that I had photographed the day before.”
A couple and their dog navigate through the mud in Montecito.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has worked around the clock searching for survivors.
The mudslides left a pileup of cars in their wake.
Rescue workers look over a scene of tangled wires and cars.
A rainbow peeks out in the aftermath of the mudslides, at the entrance to U.S. Highway 101 in Montecito.
A stranded vehicle sits in floodwaters on U.S. Highway 101 in Montecito.
A cyclist rides down a mud-covered street in Montecito.
Debris and mud cover the entrance of the Montecito Inn after Tuesday’s flash flooding and mudslides.
A car rests in mud against a tree in Montecito.
A damaged home in Montecito
Streets remain covered with mud in front of local area shops in Montecito.