“The flood zone was something that was known, what I think no one expected was the possibility of mud coming down and maybe clogging up some of the designated flow paths, causing them to back up and flow into this neighborhood,” said Brett Sanders, professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Irvine. Sanders says the mud could have resulted from the intensity of the rainfall, which can mobilize more sands and turn into a mudflow. [Subscription required, you can request an electronic copy of the article by sending an email to communications@uci.edu.] Read More