Ellen DeGeneres films rushing waters near her California home: ‘This is crazy’

Ellen DeGeneres is giving a firsthand look at the sweeping floods tearing through California and causing evacuations and lockdowns across the state.

The comedian and former “Ellen DeGeneres Show” host shared a selfie video of the rushing waters on Twitter on Monday, Jan. 9, writing, "Montecito is under mandatory evacuation. We are on higher ground so they asked us to shelter in place. Please stay safe everyone."

In the video, DeGeneres, 64, shows a creek next to her house in Montecito, which is located in Santa Barbara County about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles. "This is crazy," she says. "On the five-year anniversary (of the deadly Montecito flooding) we are having unprecedented rain."

DeGeneres goes on to say that the creek "never flows, ever" and notes that it's probably "9 feet up" and could go another 2 feet higher. "We have horses ready to evacuate," she says.

"We need to be nicer to Mother Nature," she continues. "Because Mother Nature is not happy with us. Let's all do our part. Stay safe, everybody."

The viral video has racked up more than 5 million views with several accounts replying back, telling her to stay safe.On Monday, fire officials issued an immediate evacuation order for Montecito, parts of Carpinteria, Summerland and the City of Santa Barbara, tweeting, "LEAVE NOW!" DeGeneres noted that she was advised to shelter in place since her property is elevated.

The National Weather Service for Los Angeles warned on Monday of "dangerous life threatening flash flooding" across Santa Barbara and central Ventura counties.

Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency amid the anticipated heavy rain and flooding, allowing state agencies to respond more effectively.

California's severe weather has resulted in at least one dead, a child missing, power outages and homes flooded in the past day, according to NBC News.

As of Tuesday, Jan. 10, at around 12:30 p.m. Pacific time, nearly 175,000 people were without power in California, online tracker PowerOutage.us calculated. Of that number, about 850 were located in Santa Barbara County.

NBC reported that moderate to heavy rainfall is expected into Tuesday night, along with "several more feet of snow" expected along the Sierra Nevada. The rain is projected to worsen, along with the risk of flash flooding and mudslides.

The weather service is warning of an “enormous cyclone forming well off the coast of the North American continent will bring yet another Atmospheric River toward the West Coast — this time impacting areas further north from northern California northward up the coast of the Pacific Northwest.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com