Intense and damaging rain Thursday in Santa Barbara caused memorable flooding

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - For a city with mostly sunny days, the rare intense storms are the ones that will live on with stories for years. Thursday was one of those moments.

By mid-morning some of the hardest rain in years came down in a two to three hour period with a force that overwhelmed many streets.

Flooding was reported in the freeway underpasses at Mission St., Carrillo St, State St. and Garden St.

There was also curb to curb flooding on many surface streets including Cabrillo Blvd., Gutierrez St. and Pedregosa St.

The Riviera roads were gushing like waterfalls.

Many drivers found their car swamped where they were parked and others stalled out while trying to get through the large areas of pooling water.

The first responders had multiple calls for service to make rescues and check the welfare of people who were in distress of cut off by the flood waters.

Creeks filled fast, but they did not overflow their banks.

Some businesses on Gutierrez St. and in the Funk Zone took in water when it went up and over the curbs pushed by a downhill runoff throughout the city. Many had sandbags up but were still impacted.