tropical storm hilary made landfall Sunday on the peninsula of lower californiadumping heavy rain on the region and heading toward the American Southwest, where forecasters warned of “catastrophic” and life-threatening flooding.
One person has died in Mexico amid flash floods on the peninsula, where some roads were washed away and images on social media showed torrents gushing from city streets, resembling rivers.
In USAthe storm has already wreaked havoc on flights and sporting events, while authorities warned residents to stay home and have emergency supplies on hand.
Although Hilary had been growing weaker during the last 48 hours as it came closer to land, it is still predicted to be the wetter storm that has hit the southwestern United States, according to Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service (NWS).
“Is a dangerous storm”said Taylor, who works for the NWS Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. “It’s not just the rains but the intensity.”
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph and its center was forecast to hurl over the northern part of the peninsula and then move across southern California on Sunday afternoon.
Seven decades have passed since the last tropical storm made landfall in California. In September 1939, the Long Beach Tropical Storm killed nearly 100 people.
Hilary’s passage through Mexico
In Mexico, some 1,900 people have been evacuated to shelters on the Baja California peninsula, according to the country’s military.
In addition, schools and other non-essential activities were canceled until Monday, and authorities in the city of Tijuana, which borders San Diego, urged people in high-risk areas to move to temporary shelters.
Around the coastal town of Mulegé, on the eastern side of the Baja California peninsula, one person died after his family was swept away while crossing a creek on Saturday. Telephone lines and electricity were cut in several of the surrounding towns after power poles fell, the Mexican military added.
The Mexican Navy also evacuated about 850 people from five islands in the path of Hilary, which had previously been designated a Category 4 hurricane before weakening.
Some 250 flights scheduled for Sunday at San Diego International Airport have been canceled and another 364 for Monday, according to the FlightAware website.
In California, Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles-based Dodgers and Angels moved their games from Sunday to Saturday to split doubleheaders. The city’s soccer teams, Los Angeles FC and the LA Galaxy, postponed their matches on Sunday.
Source: Ambito
