“Ten of them had a connection to our parish, and we did quite a few funerals for them five years ago … thank God we didn’t have that kind of destruction this time, but flooding has been the main issue.”
Seyer is pastor at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Montecito, which is located on the Pacific coast about 100 miles west of Los Angeles. Seyer said he had been informed by someone at his parish that his church building remains unharmed as of Tuesday afternoon, but the nearby Montecito Creek continues to overflow its banks.
The entire town was ordered to evacuate on Monday because of significant flooding, mudslides, and debris flows. Montecito got nearly 10 inches of rain over 24 hours ending late Monday, CNN reported. Seyer said he is currently sheltering with a family member in a town about an hour southeast of his parish, having been unable to return to Montecito after traveling to Los Angeles for a meeting. Seyer also said he has not heard any reports of parishioners needing assistance with their evacuations.
During the 2018 mudslides, approximately 163 people in Montecito were hospitalized. Police said the scene “looked like a World War I battlefield,” the BBC reported at the time.
“Thank God it’s not as bad of a disaster,” Seyer said of the current weather conditions. He requested prayers for all those affected and said the parish community is invoking the protection of St. Margaret of Hungary, who lived in the 13th century and is considered the patron saint of floods.
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