(Updates with flight cancellations, changes wording)
LOS ANGELES, Aug 21 (Reuters) – Parts of southern California and the southwestern United States faced the threat of flash flooding, landslides and mudslides on Monday, after Storm Hilary unleashed unprecedented downpours during the evening.
The National Weather Service reported that some 17 million Americans were under a flood and hurricane warning as the remnants of the storm moved north, dumping heavy rain from the California-Mexico border to Las Vegas and parts of the northwest.
One of the hardest-hit communities has been Palm Springs, California, where video footage posted to social media showed flooded streets and debris flows. Mayor Grace Garner told CNN that the city’s 911 emergency system was out of service because of the storm.
“Right now we have flooding on all of our roads. There is no way in or out of Palm Springs, and that is the case for most of the Coachella Valley. We are all trapped,” he said during an interview on the network.
Steady rain fell on Monday morning in many parts of the region, where record-breaking downpours had already fallen. Storm Hilary was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone overnight.
Some mountainous and desert areas could see rainfall accumulations of 5 to 10 inches (12 to 25 cm), an amount that deserts typically receive in a year, forecasters said.
The rain is expected to slowly dissipate through the morning in Southern California, but authorities warned residents not to let their guard down as floodwaters could wash out roads and inundate neighborhoods.
“The historic amount of precipitation is expected to cause life-threatening or locally catastrophic flash, urban and stream flooding, including landslides, avalanches and debris flows,” the weather service said.
According to Flightaware.com, about 400 flights to or from airports in the southwest were canceled or delayed Monday morning, 100 of which landed or departed from San Diego International Airport.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in much of Southern California, while President Joe Biden ordered federal agencies to send personnel and supplies to the region.
Before hitting the southwestern United States, the storm passed north over Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. It killed at least one person in Mexico, caused flash flooding and washed out roads.
It crossed the border Sunday afternoon, hitting San Diego County as the first tropical storm on record and becoming the first to hit Los Angeles County since 1939.
As the region braced for the storm, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck southern California north of Los Angeles.
In Ventura County, just northwest of Los Angeles, Fire Department Capt. Brian McGrath told CNN Monday that most of the rain had passed through the county without significant road closures, though authorities were inspecting any Additional damage from the storm or earthquake, such as fallen trees. (Reuters Staff Reporting; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing in Spanish by Ricardo Figueroa)
Source: Ambito
