Torrential rains fell on Sunday, August 20, in California as tropical storm Hilary approached, threatening the southwestern United States where dangerous floods are feared after its passage through Mexico, which killed one person. A 5.1 magnitude earthquake also occurred near the town of Ojai, in southern California, but no damage or casualties were immediately reported.
Even downgraded from hurricane to tropical storm, Hilary remained dangerous with winds of 95 kilometers per hour, which swept, Sunday afternoon, the peninsula of Baja California in Mexico, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). ) the United States. The storm, very rare for Southern California, moved at a steady pace of 37 kilometers per hour, the NHC added.
“Dangerous, even catastrophic flooding could occur Monday in Baja California and the Southwestern United States,” he further warned. The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) has deployed its teams in the regions that Hilary must cross. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said “this is an unprecedented weather event.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency across much of the southern region of the state. “Stay safe, California,” he wrote on social media as Hilary approached. Five reception centers have been set up and 7,500 agents are mobilized, including rescue teams and several hundred soldiers, according to the governor’s office.
San Diego is preparing for potentially dangerous flooding. The population stood ready to contain them with sandbags, while civil security asked the inhabitants not to go to sea. In this large military port on the Pacific, the American navy declared that ships and submarines sailors would set sail before the storm arrived.
Possible tornadoes could form in southeastern California, western Arizona, southern Nevada and extreme southwestern Utah, he added. According to Nancy Ward, director of the California governor’s office of emergency services, Hilary could be one of the worst storms to hit the state in more than a decade. “It’s a very, very dangerous and major storm,” she said.
US President Joe Biden is closely following the preparations, according to the White House. He is also due to travel with First Lady Jill Biden to Hawaii on Monday to see the damage caused by the forest fires and learn about the search operations that are continuing. In Mexico, Hilary and its torrential rains killed one person and damaged infrastructure south of the Baja California peninsula.
The victim was swept away with his vehicle by a sudden rise in water, said the Mexican civil protection agency, warning of possible landslides and blocked roads in Baja California. It is the first tropical storm of the season to make landfall on the Pacific side.
The state government of Baja California, where the city of Tijuana is located, has opened temporary shelters. The Mexican government has deployed nearly 19,000 troops to the states hardest hit by the storm, while the Federal Electricity Utility has sent 800 workers and hundreds of vehicles to deal with possible outages.
According to scientists, storms are getting more powerful as the planet heats up with climate change. “We also need to look at what climate change has to do with these severe weather events,” Fema official Deanne Criswell told CNN. “What will risk look like in the future? “, she worries.