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'Pineapple Express' Pounds West Coast, Heads South

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They were praying for rain, and now they've got it. A powerful storm is still battering the West Coast Friday, including drought-stricken California.

The so-called Pineapple Express storm has been wreaking havoc for days now, killing two people so far -- a homeless man and an 11-year-old-student in Oregon.
    
Now the National Weather Service is telling residents to expect more rain, heavy snow and howling winds.

"I was just wanting to take a picture of the rain coming down, and within five minutes, my car was almost submerged under water," California resident Sylvia Barrientos said.

In northern California, everything from highways to side streets to entire neighborhoods is reeling from a deluge of water.

"How am I going to get to my car?" one stranded motorist said.

In western Washington state, the ocean is swallowing up land. Some homes along a street called Washaway Beach are barely hanging on, while others are being washed away.

"It's gone," said one man, who lost his home in the deluge. "It came faster than we thought, a lot faster."

Now residents in one neighborhood are banding together to help each other out.

"Like right now, they're all together helping our neighbor across the street who is losing their house obviously really soon," one resident said.

This is the worst weather the Golden State has seen in five years, and the massive storm is expected to soak much of the state through the weekend.

Hardest hit is San Francisco, where flooded roadways and toppled trees kept thousands from work and school.

Meanwhile, clean-up crews are out in force trying to clear up the mess as residents take stock of the damage. Near the Santa Clara border, a massive tree came down on one SUV. Fortunately no one was hurt.

"The tree has been here for a probably a few hundred years and eventually, this is the sort of thing that happens when there's a big rain storm," San Jose resident Richard Osburn said.

With tens of thousands without power and roads underwater, some residents found creative ways to get around. One group of kids relied on a shopping cart to get through a flooded parking lot.

The bad weather in California also forced the delay of a U.S. defense satellite rocket launch Thursday. The liftoff was postponed until Friday evening.

Meanwhile, all eyes are on now on Southern California as residents hit earlier by wildfires prepare for the storm and potential mud slides.

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George
Thomas

Born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and of Indian descent, CBN News’ Senior International Correspondent and Co-Anchor, George Thomas, has been traveling the globe for more than 20 years, finding the stories of people, conflicts, and issues that must be told. He has reported from more than 100 countries and has had a front-row seat to numerous global events of our day. George’s stories of faith, struggle, and hope combine the expertise of a seasoned journalist with the inspiration of a deep calling to tell the stories of the people behind the news. “I’ve always liked discovering & exploring new