Videos: El Niño Rains Flood The 5 Freeway As Deep As Four Feet

Heavy flooding from El Niño rains shut down multiple lanes of the 5 Freeway in the San Fernando Valley this afternoon making travel treacherous.

Shortly after noon on Wednesday, all lanes except for the north and southbound HOV lane of the 5 were completely flooded near Sheldon Street and Lankershim Boulevard in Sun Valley, reports KTLA. California Highway Patrol issued a SigAlert around 1 p.m., at which point around 3 to 4 feet of water had flooded the number 4 and 5 lanes of the southbound side, and roughly 4 feet was covering the number 3 and 4 lanes on the northbound side. The on- and off-ramps at Sheldon were also covered in about 3 feet of water and had to be closed.

As a result, drivers were forced to very slowly navigate the waters of the two remaining lanes, trying to avoid getting stuck in the standing floodwater.

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Seriously, it's like the Jungle Cruise out there:

And the bird's-eye-view:

Caltrans crews worked to unclog drains along the side of the road and clear the water. According to CHP, the flooding occurred because so much rain fell in a short amount of time and debris clogged the drains.

By 3 p.m., the number 1 lane (next to the HOV lane) was reopened, according to Caltrans and the rest of the lanes were reopened shortly after that.

Be safe out there!