Ben Lomond, Calif. ? A deadly El Niño storm that brought five straight days of rain and high winds to the Pacific Coast eased up Tuesday, but more bad weather was on the way and the danger of mudslides was high.

“We’re trying to scramble and get as much accomplished as possible before the next storm hits,” said Deputy Kim Allyn, a spokesman for the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Department, which was assembling its emergency response team.

At its height, the storm left nearly 2 million Californians without power. At least nine deaths were blamed on the wild weather — six died in California, two people were killed in their bed by a falling tree in Oregon and a snowboarder was killed by an avalanche at a Nevada ski resort.

The latest victims were three women whose car was swept down a flooded creek Monday at Carlsbad, north of San Diego. Two other women with them were rescued.

Mountain dwellers in coastal Santa Cruz were warned of mudslides. The U.S. Geological Survey said there was so much moisture in the soil that rainfall was pouring straight down hills.

In Southern California, rain caused mudslides along sections of the San Gabriel Mountains laid bare by a brush fire in September. Sludge blocked roads in some foothill towns.

A Santa Cruz County mudslide 20 years ago buried 12 houses in the early morning, killing 10 people. Storms also led to mudslides in 1998.