AKIPRESS.COM - Hundreds of rescuers are combing wreckage in Southern California for more than a dozen people missing after mudslides that have killed 17 people, BBCreported.

Another 28 injuries have been reported in Santa Barbara County following the deluge that overwhelmed an area scorched by wildfires last month.

More than 100 homes were destroyed, and another 300 have been damaged.

One rescue worker tearfully described plucking a "muddy doll" of a toddler from under several feet of debris.

Berkeley Johnson said the two-year-old girl was taken to hospital and suffered an injury to her hip.

"I don't know how the baby survived," Mr Berkeley told the Santa Barbara Independent newspaper.