Mangled cars show the raw destructive power of California mudslides

If anyone doubted the sheer destructive power of the mudslides that have devastated Southern California this week, a video posted to Instagram Thursday should hammer the point home.

SEE ALSO: Photos: California’s wildfires make way for destructive mudslides

The video, which was uploaded by The Knight Show podcast and verified by Storyful, hovers over two utterly mangled blobs of crushed steel and twisted plastic on Hammonds Beach in Santa Barbara. 

One of the unlucky cars, which had made a trip down Montecito Creek following heavy rain in the region, was apparently an H3 Hummer.

The Santa Barbara County Fire Department also posted a picture of the wreckage.

At least 17 people have died in the mudslides, and 43 people were still unaccounted for by Thursday afternoon, the LA Times reports.

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