1 Death Tied to Storm; Rain to Stop Today : Weather: A 17-year-old boy is killed and four others hurt when their van leaves road and lands upside-down in a stream. Street flooding closes several routes.

Steady rains Sunday caused road closures, scores of traffic accidents--one of them fatal--and several emergency rescues in Orange County. Forecasters said residents will get a reprieve today and Tuesday but should keep umbrellas and rain slickers handy for the rest of the week.

The rains that began late Saturday were mainly a nuisance Sunday, but county emergency officials remained on alert, fearing that downpours on the tail of record rains in January might unleash mudslides and widespread flooding and endanger hillside homes.

Hardest hit Sunday were Modjeska Canyon, which was pounded by 4.2 inches of rain within 24 hours, and Silverado Canyon, which also was drenched by 4.2 inches of rain. Laguna Beach, which suffered major flooding damage in January’s heavy storms, got nearly 2 inches.

Also during the 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m. Sunday, Anaheim got 1.4 inches, Dana Point 1.7 inches, Newport Beach 1.4 inches, Santa Ana 1.75 inches, and Huntington Beach just over 1 inch.

“We’re monitoring rain conditions so we can be proactive and ready in case it picks up,” said Tom Connelie, an operations manager at the Orange County Storm Center, where about 25 people were working to ensure a quick response to rain-related emergencies. “Hopefully, nothing like that will happen.”

But there were some close calls.

A couple used a garden hose to save a man who was driving along Trabuco Creek Road and tried to navigate his sedan across rain-swollen Trabuco Creek. The rushing waters quickly swept the vehicle down a 10-foot waterfall before it became stuck about 30 feet away, according to Orange County Fire Capt. Joe Lowe.

A couple heard the man calling for help as he stood on top of the submerged vehicle. They used the hose to pull him to safety.

The incident happened in the same area where an 11-year-old boy died in January. He was a passenger in a four-wheel drive vehicle that didn’t make it across the swollen creek. Riding in such vehicles is a popular activity in the area.

“People need to learn their lesson and just stay away when it’s raining like this,” said Lowe, who pleaded with the public to fear fast-flowing waters in remote parts of the county. “It’s just not safe.”

“Please slow down,” pleaded CHP dispatcher Tony Juliano, harried after a day filled with scores of traffic accidents, fender-benders and spin-outs throughout the county.

A 17-year-old boy was killed and four others injured early Sunday when a van flipped while southbound on Brea Canyon Road north of Tonner Canyon Road, in a area north of Brea. The vehicle ended up 60 feet off the road, upside-down in a six-foot-deep stream, CHP officials said.

The name of the boy was not released, but a CHP spokeswoman said Ty Loc Tang, 18, of Garden Grove, suffered minor injuries as did two other boys. Another suffered “major injuries,” the spokeswoman said.

Street flooding closed several routes, causing traffic backups throughout the area.

Roads closed at various points Sunday included: Ortega Highway between Interstate 5 and Riverside County; Pacific Coast Highway between Golden West Street and Warner Avenue; Laguna Canyon Road between El Toro Road and the San Diego Freeway, and Trabuco Creek Road.

In addition to downed trees reported across the county, the National Weather Service declared an urban flood advisory for several Southern California counties, including Orange County.

Rain was expected to end late Sunday night or early this morning, but Orange County and Southern California residents can expect another dousing by Wednesday or later in the week, said Curtis Brack, meteorologist for WeatherData, which provides forecasts for The Times.

Forecasters said this period of rain has been almost as intense as it was in January. But the impact is less, they said, because the current storms are moving much faster and are not lingering in the area.

“They’re not hanging around as long to dump rain in one place over a long time,” Brack said.