I've never seen it rain anywhere as hard as it rains in Vancouver, BC. Like a million cows peeing on a flat rock at the same time. I remember stepping out of building when the rain first started, and by the time I made it to the curb, the gutters were bank full! I grew up near the 'rainforest' where the redwoods grow in California, too. The Coast Range in Central Cal is composed mostly of sand. I was there when a whole 'mountain' got so waterlogged it collapsed, burying a small town. http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/gen...-more-homeless
Back here, we sometimes get a foot in a day, which results in a massive flood, usually of the 'flash' variety. I only saw one of those in California. We were camped in the mountains on the Mokelumne River, when a cloudburst caused a small dam upstream to break. Fortunately, our vehicle and tent were about 6 feet above the now raging river that had been a gentle stream minutes before, and the road didn't get washed out. That was the fastest teardown of a camp on record, though.