Tornado Strikes Long Beach, Huntington Beach in Los Angeles

A tornado (or tornadoes) struck coast areas around Los Angeles Tuesday afternoon (January 19,) including Long Beach, Sunset Beach,Huntington Beach and Seal Beach.

Reports are sketchy at the moment, but there is confirmation of vehicles being flipped by the tornado, and some building damage.

The image above comes from Jonathan360 on Twitpic and shows an overturned vehicle at Seal Beach.

Local media reports a confirmed sighting of a tornado touching down near Sunset Beach. Boats in the area were said to have been thrown “30 feet to 50 feet in the air.”

The storm that caused the tornado (or tornadoes) caused widespread disruption across the Los Angeles area, with the heavy rain flooding the 710 Freeway in Long Beach.

As at 3pm local time, the tornado warning had been lifted, although authorities warned residents in the area to stay indoors as the storm continued to pound the coast. A flood warning remains in effect for South Central Los Angeles.