Tropical Storm Hillary hits Southern California
After killing one person in Mexico, Tropical Storm Hillary made landfall in Southern California on Sunday, bringing heavy rain and strong winds.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in the southern part of the state.
AFP
Heavy rain lashed Southern California on Sunday as Tropical Storm Hillary approached, crossing northwestern Mexico and threatening the southwestern United States, killing at least one person in its path.
Although downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hillary remains dangerous with sustained winds of 95 km/h over the Baja California peninsula. “The heart of Hillary will move across southern California over the next few hours,” the NHC warned. “Critical or catastrophic flooding is possible in Baja California and parts of the US Southwest on Monday,” he added.
“Hillary is going to have a serious impact threatening Southern California,” Dean Criswell, head of the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which has sent its teams to the affected areas, told CNN’s Hillary. California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in the southern part of the state.
Cyclone
Five reception centers have been set up and 7,500 agents have been mobilized, including rescue teams and several hundred soldiers, the governor’s office said. San Diego is bracing for dangerous flooding. The U.S. Navy said ships and submarines will depart the major military port in the Pacific before the storm makes landfall.
“Security remains our top priority, and putting every ship at sea makes it easier to manage the situation ashore,” US Third Fleet Commander Michael Boyle said in a statement. Parts of Colorado or the Mojave Desert are also at risk of tornadoes.
According to Nancy Ward, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, Hillary could be one of the worst storms to hit the state in more than a decade. “This is a very dangerous and big storm,” he said.
US President Joe Biden is closely monitoring the arrangements, according to the White House. He is due to travel to Hawaii on Monday with First Lady Jill Biden to view the damage caused by the wildfires and learn about the ongoing excavation efforts.
A death in Mexico
In Mexico, Hillary and its torrential downpours killed one person and damaged infrastructure south of the Baja California peninsula. The Mexican civil defense agency warned of landslides and blocked roads in Baja California after a victim was swept away with his vehicle after a flash flood.
It is the first tropical storm of the season to make landfall in the Pacific. The state government of Baja California, where the city of Tijuana is located, has opened temporary shelters.
The Mexican government has sent nearly 19,000 soldiers to the states hardest hit by the storm, while the central electricity utility has dispatched 800 workers and hundreds of vehicles to deal with possible outages. According to scientists, storms are becoming more powerful as the world warms due to climate change.
AFP
Did you find an error?Please let us know.
“Avid gamer. Social media geek. Proud troublemaker. Thinker. Travel fan. Problem solver.”