Los Angeles ? Californians braced for even more rain Tuesday as they struggled to recover from storms that have left at least nine people dead, triggered mudslides and tornadoes, and washed away roads and runways.

Among the victims was a Nevada woman caught in an avalanche while cross-country skiing near Lake Tahoe, and a 16-year-old Orange County girl doing homework on a computer when a mudslide crashed through the wall of her home.

Several homes on an unstable hill in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles have been evacuated because the soil under them is slipping away. Waterlogged Californians struggled Tuesday to recover from storms that have triggered mudslides and tornadoes.

In Ventura County, officials closed the small Santa Paula airport Tuesday after more than 155 feet of runway collapsed into the rushing Santa Clara River. Chunks of concrete crumbled into the water throughout the day.

“We’ve lost nearly the entire west third of the airport,” said Rowena Mason, president of the Santa Paula Airport Assn. “This is millions and millions of dollars worth of damage.”

Forecasters said another strong system expected early today could bring severe winds and drop an additional inch or more of rain on Southern California.