On Sunday, as Hurricane Hilary roared along the coast of Mexico, where authorities reported at least one death, residents of the normally parched states of the US Southwest prepared for torrential rain and potentially life-threatening flooding.
Category 4 on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale, Hilary was forecast to deteriorate to a tropical storm before making landfall in southern California on Sunday afternoon. As it travelled north close off the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico on Sunday morning, the NHC classified it as a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of roughly 80 miles (130 km) per hour.
“Catastrophic and life-threatening flooding likely over Baja California and portions of the south-western US through Monday,” a US government agency warned.
In a statement released on Saturday, Mexico’s Civil Protection office reported that one person had died after their car was washed away by a surging torrent. The organisation also issued a warning about landslides and road closures in Baja California.
Storm will bring flooding
The NHC predicted that Hilary will move inland and north during the next day or two, bringing heavy rain to regions of Mexico, California, and Nevada. It warned that tornadoes could form in the Mojave Desert, the Imperial Valley, and the Colorado River Valley.
Governor Gavin Newsom of California announced a state of emergency for much of the state’s southern territory, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) sent personnel to places in Hilary’s route.
It has been predicted that Hurricane Hilary will be one of the worst hurricanes to hit California in almost a decade, according to Nancy Ward, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. “Make no mistake,” she emphasised at a press conference on Saturday. As one meteorologist put it, “This is a very, very dangerous and significant storm.”
Keeping an eye on the forecast
“We took all the precautionary measures last night,” Omar Olvera, the manager of a seaside restaurant in Cabo San Lucas, proclaimed on Tuesday.
The restaurant had been fortified with sandbags, and he explained, “We’re just looking out for the workers and waiting for the weather to come.” The beach in Los Cerritos, which is adjacent to the town of Todos Santos on the west coast of the peninsula, was closed on Saturday because of high surf.
The federal power service in Mexico sent 800 staff and hundreds of cars to respond to any disruptions, and the Mexican government deployed nearly 19,000 soldiers to the states hit worst by the storm. Senior White House aides briefed Vice President Joe Biden on storm preparations on Saturday as he was on vacation with his family at a rented house on Lake Tahoe near the California-Nevada border.
The US Navy has announced that ships and submarines will depart from San Diego in advance of the storm. American officials warned citizens to take the threats seriously. FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell told CNN that Hurricane Hilary poses a “serious impact and threat” to southern California.
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