Tornado rips through buildings near LA – as COUCH flies through skies of storm-battered San Francisco: California storm death toll reaches five

Footage from the area shows numerous cars damaged by fallen trees and rising floodwaters sweeping through streets.

Fast moving waters in Oakland, which saw substantial destruction in recent weeks after an overflowed levee washed out the region, also caused a section of a dock to break loose and drift away with numerous boats.

And in the Mission Bay region, an industrial barge was dislodged and smashed into a bridge, leading authorities to urge residents to avoid the area.

Travel chaos has also hit the roads across southern California, and motorists are trapped after downed power lines hit Woodside.

Residents are being asked to shelter in place due to many of the wires remaining live, and local authorities have said it is unclear when PG&E will recover the broken lines.

Severe winds cancelled all ferry services on Tuesday afternoon in the Bay area, with officials noting the disruption was due to ‘ocean-like waves’.