A great hassle for Meghan and Harry. For more than ten days, a violent storm has been battering California, which already has a heavy toll of 23 dead. The authorities quickly reacted by ordering the evacuation of the small town of Montecito, where the royal couple lives and which is under the threat of large mudslides. Located an hour and a half drive north of Los Angeles, this coastal town of about 9,000 people is a celebrity haunt. Actress Jennifer Aniston and TV presenter Oprah Winfrey, for example, each own a house there worth millions of dollars.
Meteorologists have predicted up to twenty centimeters of rain in the next 24 hours, while the surrounding hills are already saturated with water from the heavy rains of the past few days. Already weakened by a fire a few years ago, this small town is very vulnerable to landslides. “Evacuate now,” the local fire station tweeted Monday morning, preventing residents from reaching their homes. In addition to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, big names are also affected, such as actors Rob Lowe, Larry David, Gwyneth Paltrow and singer Katy Perry.
Many celebrities had to leave their homes
If for the moment, none of the spokespersons for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has made any comment, it goes without saying that the royal couple is in a good place. On Monday, TV host Ellen DeGeneres, who also lives in Montecito, posted a video to Twitter showing a torrent of raging muddy water. “It’s crazy, this stream next to our house absolutely never flows. We need to be more considerate of Mother Nature, because Mother Nature is not happy with us,” she said. While it is difficult to establish a direct link between these storms and climate change, scientists regularly explain that warming increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. And whatever our conditions, everyone is impacted.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle © Backgrid UK
