In the early morning on Tuesday, January 9th, fatal mudslides destroyed entire homes and neighborhoods in Montecito, California. A total of 65 homes were completely wrecked, with a few hundred more damaged.

20 people are confirmed dead and four are still missing as of January 15th, 2018, due to the mudslides. Currently, rescue and repair workers are doing their best to remove huge boulders and colossal amounts of mud from the affected areas, but hundreds of people have been evacuated in the process.

The mudslides were caused by a combination of rain and scorched ground left from the Thomas Fire in Southern California, the largest fire in California’s recorded history, which burned over 250,000 acres of land. The areas below the ground affected by the fire will remain in danger of getting hit by mudslides for years to come, so Montecito certainly won’t be the first town in Southern California devastated by such a disaster.

Mudslides can affect any area in the world where there are heavy rains and steep hills or mountains. Specifically now California seems to be the primary area susceptible to them, as the wildfires at the end of last year ravaged thousands of acres of Californian land.

Normally in the United States, anywhere between 25 and 50 people die of mudslides every year. The mudslides in California were specifically caused by the Thomas Wildfire burning the organic matter in the soil, which helps the ground absorb water when it rains heavily.

Montecito, the town devastated by the mudslides, is home to several celebrities, including Rob Lowe, Ellen DeGeneres, Jeff Bridges, and Oprah Winfrey. Not long after the disaster occurred, Winfrey shared photos of her muddy backyard with a gas fire occurring behind it on Instagram. DeGeneres also shared how she was affected by the mudslides on her daytime talk show on January 11th.

So now the question is: how can you help those affected by the mudslides? One way to do this is to donate to the American Red Cross, whose selfless members help hundreds every day. The Red Cross has established shelters for the survivors of the mudslides until they can return to their homes, along with hot meals and health service. If you’d like to donate to the Red Cross, text REDCROSS to 90999, call 1-800-RED CROSS, donate on the Red Cross Website, or call the local shelter at (805) 987-1514.

You can also donate to Direct Relief, a Californian charity that provides medicine and medical supplies to the survivors of the mudslides. You can donate to them by doing so directly on their website and specifying that your donation is for the “Southern California Fires & Mudslides.”

Hopefully the victims of the mudslides will be able to return to their homes soon, and devastation will hit them no longer.