One of California's strongest storms in years - dubbed a "bombogenesis" or "weather bomb" - has hit the state, killing two, and bringing torrential rain and flash floods, BBC reports. 

Hundreds of homes have been evacuated amid fears of mud slides near Los Angeles.

More than 250 flights have been disrupted at Los Angeles International Airport, and major roads have closed.

The weather has also brought car-swallowing sinkholes and power cuts.

The rainstorms spread from the south of the state, around Los Angeles, up to San Francisco.

One man was killed after a tree fell and pulled a power line on to his car in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles.