Hurricane Hilary floods Mexico killing one as it barrels towards California, with Palm Springs residents scrambling for SANDBAGS ahead of 10 inches of rain: Health-conscious LA panic buyers clear grocery stores of everything except white bread
- Hurricane Hilary hurtled towards Mexico’s Baja California peninsula on Saturday
- One man died in the Baja California Sur state when he was crossing a stream
- Hilary will weaken but will be the first tropical storm to hit California since 1939
Hurricane Hilary is hurtling toward California after pummeling Mexico’s Baja California peninsula with heavy rain leaving at least one person dead, amid warnings of ‘catastrophic and life-threatening flooding.’
By early Sunday morning the ferocious storm cell had weakened, but it remains a dangerous Category 1 hurricane, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
The storm was about 30 miles south of Punta Eugenia, Mexico, and 385 miles from San Diego, California as of about 5am Sunday morning and was moving north to northwest at 21 mph.
Parts of California, Nevada and Arizona that are unaccustomed to rain could also suddenly receive a year’s worth or more.
The maximum sustained wind speed remained unchanged at 85 mph while spreading ‘heavy rains’ northward over the peninsula.
Meteorologists warned that despite weakening, the storm remained treacherous with images and videos posted online already showing its impact.
Hurricane Hilary is hurtling toward California after blanketing Mexico’s Baja California peninsula with heavy rain, amid warnings of ‘catastrophic and life-threatening flooding,’ with at least one person killed
Medano beach in Los Cabos, Baja California State, Mexico, saw angry seas during the passage of Hurricane Hilary, on Saturday
One video from Santa Rosalia, one of the populations hardest hit by Hilary so far, sunk below murky brown floodwaters racing at intense speeds through the city.
Meanwhile, in the same town one person drowned on Saturday, when a vehicle was swept away in an overflowing stream.
Rescue workers managed to save four other people, Edith Aguilar Villavicencio, the mayor of Mulege township, said to local news outlets.
It was not immediately clear whether officials considered the fatality related to the hurricane, but video posted by local officials showed torrents of water coursing through the town’s streets.
While areas in the Peninsula had already been served a lashing from the storm, residents in California braced for bad weather posting eerie images of deep orange, red and magenta sunsets washing over the state in what people described as the ‘calm before the storm.’
Forecasters said the storm was still expected to enter the history books as the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, bringing flash floods, mudslides, isolated tornadoes, high winds and power outages.
Residents in the southern California had been given evacuation orders ahead of the historic storm making landfall around 1pm.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency, and officials had urged people to finish their preparations before sundown Saturday
Typical LA! Loaves of white bread languish on the shelves at Trader Joe’s as Angelenos clear out the focaccia to hunker down for Hurricane Hilary
By early Sunday morning the ferocious storm cell had weakened, but remained a dangerous Category 1 hurricane, according to the National Weather Service
California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency, and officials had urged people to finish their preparations before sundown Saturday. It would be too late by Sunday, one expert said.
Newsom tried to reassure residents extensive preparations are underway, including the deploying of ‘more than 7,500 boots on the ground’.
But panic buying has set in and some supermarket shelves in San Diego and Los Angeles were stripped bare of essentials such as water and tinned food.
Videos of people panic buying at grocery stores started emerge from California, with one tweet making jest of the ‘essentials’ being bought by people in Los Angeles.
‘A sign you’re in LA and not the southeast US during hurricane / tropical storm preparation: WHITE BREAD is left at Trader Joe’s!!! Focaccia – all gone!!! But even during storm prep, Angelenos ain’t bringing home the white bread!’ the post read with a picture of empty shelves and around seven loaves of white bread.
The forecast prompted authorities to issue an evacuation advisory for Santa Catalina Island, urging residents and beachgoers to leave the tourist destination 23 miles off the coast.
The tropical storm, the first set to make landfall in California since 1939, could impact more than 42million people.
Elizabeth Adams, a meteorologist at the NWS San Diego office, said rain could fall up to 3 inches an hour across Southern California’s mountains and deserts, from late Sunday morning into the afternoon.
Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for much of Southern California to support Hurricane Hilary response and recovery efforts as the state continues mobilizing and coordinating resources ahead of the storm’s forecasted impacts
Residents of Seal Beach were seen placing sand into sandbags in preparation of the incoming storm
Families were seen carrying the sad in containers back to their homes
Newsom tried to reassure residents extensive preparations are underway, including the deploying of ‘more than 7,500 boots on the ground’ but said getting prepped on Sunday would be too late
The intense rainfall during those hours could cause widespread and life-threatening flash floods.
Meteorologists also expected the storm to churn up ‘life-threatening’ surf and rip currents, including waves up to 40 feet high, along Mexico’s Pacific coast.
Dozens sought refuge at storm shelters in the twin resorts of Los Cabos at the southern tip of the Baja peninsula, and firefighters rescued a family in San Jose del Cabo after the resort was hit by driving rain and wind.
In Tijuana, fire department head Rafael Carrillo voiced the fear at the back of everyone’s mind in the border city of 1.9 million people, particularly residents who live in homes on steep hillsides.
‘If you hear noises, or the ground cracking, it is important for you to check it and get out as fast as possible, because the ground can weaken and your home could collapse,’ Carrillo said.
Tijuana ordered all beaches closed Saturday, and set up a half dozen storm shelters at sports complexes and government offices.
Mexico’s navy evacuated 850 people from islands off the Baja coast, and deployed almost 3,000 troops for emergency operations.
In La Paz, the picturesque capital of Baja California Sur state on the Sea of Cortez, police patrolled closed beaches to keep swimmers out of the whipped-up surf.
Some school and other non-essential activities were canceled through Monday, and authorities in Mexico’s second-largest city, Tijuana, urged people in high-risk zones to move to temporary shelters.
Beautiful images ahead of the hurricane show California painted with colors of orange, red and pink as the sunset ahead of the incoming storm
Forecasters said the storm was still expected to enter the history books as the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, bringing flash floods, mudslides, isolated tornadoes, high winds and power outages
Nearly 200 flights scheduled for Sunday at the San Diego International Airport have been canceled and another 184 on Monday, according to the FlightAware website.
In California, Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles-based Dodgers and Angels brought their Sunday games forward to Saturday to turn them into split doubleheaders.
The city’s soccer teams, Los Angeles FC and LA Galaxy, both postponed their Sunday matches due to threat of heavy rains and flooding.
Both Disneyland Resort theme parks will also close early due to Hurricane Hilary, which is set to make landfall soon.
Disneyland Resort said in a statement: ‘We are closely monitoring Hurricane Hilary and making adjustments based on the latest information from the NWS.
‘Disneyland Resort theme parks will close early tomorrow, Sunday Aug. 20, with Disney California Adventure Park closing at 9 pm and Disneyland Park closing at 10 pm. The Downtown Disney District will close at 11 pm.
‘Our resort hotels will remain open to serve our guests staying with us on property.’
President Joe Biden has said the Federal Emergency Management Agency had rallied staff and supplies in the at-risk areas.
A surfer walked out of the Pacific Ocean at Ocean Beach shortly after sunset with Hurricane Hilary approaching on Saturday in the calm before the storm
Others in San Diego were seen gathering by a fire after sunset at Ocean Beach on Saturday
‘I urge everyone, everyone in the path of this storm, to take precautions and listen to the guidance of state and local officials,’ he told reporters on Friday.
The hurricane is the latest major climate disaster to wreak havoc across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Hawaii’s island of Maui is still reeling from last week’s blaze that killed over 100 people and ravaged the historic town of Lahaina, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century.
In Canada, firefighters on Saturday continued to battle blazes during the nation’s worst fire season on record.
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