LOS ANGELES (AP) – Tropical Storm Hilary deluged arid parts of Mexico and then drenched Southern California in the United States (US) from the coast to inland mountains and deserts, forcing rescuers to pull several people from swollen rivers. Millions expected more flooding and mudslides, even as the storm begins to weaken.
The storm first made landfall in Mexico’s arid Baja California Peninsula on Sunday in a sparsely populated area about 250 kilometres (km) south of Ensenada. One person drowned. It then moved through mudslide-prone Tijuana, threatening the improvised homes that cling to hillsides just south of the US border.
The first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, Hilary dropped more than half an average year’s worth of rain on some areas, including the desert resort city of Palm Springs, which saw nearly 7.6 centimetres of rain by Sunday evening.
Forecasters warned of dangerous flash floods across Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, and fire officials rescued 13 people from knee-deep water in a homeless encampment along the rising San Diego River. Meanwhile, rain and debris washed out some roadways and people left their cars stranded in standing water. Crews pumped floodwaters out of the emergency room at Eisenhower Medical Centre in Rancho Mirage.
The Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second largest school system, said all campuses would be closed, as did districts across the region. San Diego schools postponed the first day of classes to tomorrow.
The Palm Springs Police Department said in a statement on Sunday that 911 lines were down and that in the event of an emergency to text 911 or reach out to the nearest police or fire station.
The storm was projected to weaken as it continued moving northward over California and into Nevada, but a hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Centre Richard Pasch said “very heavy” rain and strong winds are still likely. Southern California got another surprise on Sunday afternoon as an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 hit near Ojai, about 130km northwest of downtown Los Angeles, according to the US Geological Survey. It was felt widely and was followed by smaller aftershocks. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injury, according to a dispatcher with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
Hilary is just the latest major climate disaster to wreak havoc across the US, Canada and Mexico. Hawaii’s island of Maui is still reeling from a blaze that killed over 100 people.
