Torrential rain battered California on Sunday as Tropical Storm Hilary approached, threatening the U.S. southwest, where dangerous flooding is feared, after it swept through Mexico and killed one person.
• Also read: Hurricane Hilary killed at least one person in Baja California, Mexico, while en route to the United States
• Also read: Hurricane Hilary heading for US, downgraded to Category 1 but ‘very dangerous’
• Also read: Hurricane Hilary, downgraded to Category 2, is heading towards the United States
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake also struck near the southern California town of Ojai, but no damage or casualties were initially reported.
Although Hilary was downgraded from hurricane to tropical storm, it remained dangerous with winds of 95 km/h that swept across Mexico’s Baja California peninsula on Sunday afternoon, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC). -United States.
The storm, very rare for Southern California, was moving at a steady speed of 37 km/h, the center added.
“Dangerous, even catastrophic, flooding could occur in Baja California and southwestern parts of the United States on Monday,” he warned.
The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) has deployed its teams in the regions that Hilary has to cross.
“This is an unprecedented weather event,” said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency across much of the state’s southern region.
“Stay safe California,” he wrote on social media as Hilary approached.
According to the governor’s office, five reception centers have been set up and 7,500 agents have been mobilized, including rescue teams and several hundred soldiers.
San Diego braces for potentially dangerous flooding. The population stood ready to contain them with sandbags, while civil security urged residents not to go to sea.
At this key military port on the Pacific, the US Navy said ships and submarines would put to sea before the storm made landfall.
“Safety remains our top priority, and using every ship possible at sea will help us deal with the situation on land,” U.S. Third Fleet commander Michael Boyle said in a statement.
AFP
Heavy rains and possible flash flooding are also expected in parts of Oregon and Idaho, the NHC also warned.
Potential tornadoes could form in southeastern California, western Arizona, southern Nevada and far southwestern Utah, he added.
Hilary could be one of the worst storms to hit the state in more than a decade, according to Nancy Ward, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. “It’s a very, very dangerous and severe storm,” she said.
According to the White House, US President Joe Biden is following the preparations closely.
He also has to travel to Hawaii with First Lady Jill Biden on Monday to see the damage caused by the wildfires and find out about the ongoing search operations.
AFP
In Mexico, Hilary and torrential rains killed one person and damaged infrastructure south of the Baja California peninsula.
The victim’s vehicle was swept away by a sudden surge in water, the Mexican civil protection agency said, warning of possible landslides and blocked roads in Baja California.
It’s the first tropical storm of the season to make landfall on the Pacific side.
The state government of Baja California, where the city of Tijuana is located, has opened shelters.
The Mexican government has deployed nearly 19,000 troops to states hardest hit by the storm, while the state-owned electric utility has dispatched 800 workers and hundreds of vehicles to deal with any possible outages.
Storms are getting stronger as the world warms from climate change, scientists say.
“We also need to look at what climate change has to do with these severe weather events,” Fema official Deanne Criswell told CNN. “What will the risk look like in the future?”