Officials warned residents of a California hamlet on Wednesday that the steep hills overlooking their community could collapse again as the death toll from a mudslide rose to 10 with six still missing. Rescue workers continued to search for survivors trapped in the 30-foot-deep (10 metre) mound of earth that swallowed some 15 homes in La Conchita, about 80 miles (130 km) north of Los Angeles. Part of a hillside that towered over the seaside enclave collapsed on Monday after weeks of drenching rain unleashed torrents of mud that buried a four-block area within seconds. At a hastily called town meeting at a Red Cross evacuation center, officials warned residents that more slides were likely and that the mud and debris were still moving and unstable. "We consider that the whole area of La Conchita is unsafe," Ventura County Deputy Fire Chief Dave Festerling said. "We want people out of the area." As the names of the 10 confirmed dead were read out, residents and sheriff's deputies wept.
