WhatsNew2Day – Latest News And Breaking Headlines
Hurricane Hilary is expected to cause severe flooding and will be the first tropical storm to hit California since 1939.
The storm quickly reached Category 4 strength on Friday and is expected to make landfall on the Mexican peninsula Saturday evening.
It will then move upward into Tijuana on Sunday before hitting Southern California later the same day, having weakened slightly to become a tropical storm.
But it still poses extreme danger to those in its path, with the US National Hurricane Center warned of “catastrophic and life-threatening flooding”.
The US Navy said it will send many of its warships to San Diego Bay to help manage and secure boats in port when the hurricane hits the area.
Los Angeles officials are setting up shelters and working to ward off homeless people living in the city’s famous dry riverbed, in anticipation of its flooding.
Hurricane Hilary is expected to cause severe flooding and will be the first tropical storm to hit California since 1939
The storm quickly reached Category 4 strength on Friday and is expected to make landfall on the Mexican peninsula Saturday evening. He can be seen starting to beat Cabo San Lucas in Mexico on Saturday morning
Gusty winds from Hurricane Hilary are felt Saturday in the port area of Cabo San Lucas
A tropical storm warning has been issued by the National Hurricane Center for large parts of Southern California, including the Pacific Coast, interior mountains and deserts.
There have been talks of evacuation plans for people on Catalina Island, which sits just off the Golden State near Los Angeles.
Janice Hahn, chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, told the local television station KTLA“I don’t think any of us – I know myself particularly – ever thought that I would be here talking about a hurricane or a tropical storm.”
Hurricane Hilary slowed down later Friday after gaining strength but still remains at Category 4 strength with winds up to 130 miles per hour.
It was centered about 240 miles west of the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula on Saturday morning and was moving north at 13 miles per hour.
The storm is expected to pick up speed as it heads north. Heavy rains are feared to cause dangerous flooding in the border city of Tijuana.
About 1.9 million people in the region live on steep hills, and there are fears that heavy rains could trigger landslides.
Montserrat Mayor Caballero Ramirez said the city is setting up four shelters in high-risk areas and warning those who live near the storm’s path.
“We are a vulnerable city being located on one of the most visited borders in the world and because of our landscape,” she said.
The National Park Service has closed Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave National Preserve over fears people will be stranded due to flooding.
While cities in the region, including in Arizona, have provided sandbags to prepare properties for damaging flooding.
Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department deputies urged homeless people living in dry riverbeds to seek shelter away from the storm.
The storm will then move upward into Tijuana on Sunday before hitting Southern California. The US National Hurricane Center has warned of ‘catastrophic and life-threatening flooding’
Hurricane Hilary slowed down later Friday after gaining strength but still remains at Category 4 strength with winds up to 130 miles per hour.
Food, beds and shelter have also been provided for those in need.
President Joe Biden said the Federal Emergency Management Agency has rallied personnel and supplies to at-risk areas.
“I urge everyone, everyone in the path of this storm, to take precautions and listen to the advice of state and local authorities,” he told reporters on Friday.
Authorities in Southern California reinforced sand berms, which were built to protect low-lying coastal communities from water.
Tanner Atkinson of Newport Beach lined up for free sandbags at a distribution point in town.
He said: “I mean a lot of people here are excited because the waves are going to get pretty heavy.”
“But I mean, it’s going to rain, so usually there’s flooding and landslides and things like that.”
It was centered about 240 miles west of the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula on Saturday morning and was moving north at 13 miles per hour.
Sandbags have been provided to residents to help protect against possible flooding
Police patrolled closed beaches in Baja California Sur state on Friday to keep swimmers out
Elsewhere, Major League Baseball has postponed three of this Sunday’s games in California in anticipation of treacherous weather forecast for Hurricane Hilary.
Schools in Mexico’s Cabo San Lucas stood ready to be used as temporary shelters as police patrolled closed beaches in the state of Baja California Sur to keep swimmers out.
Hurricane officials said the storm could bring up to 10 inches of rain to parts of southern California and southern Nevada.
Kristen Corbosiero, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Albany who specializes in Pacific hurricanes, said “two to three inches of precipitation in Southern California is unprecedented” at this time of year. .
“That’s a whole lot of summer and fall rain that probably comes in 6 to 12 hours.”