CALIFORNIA – Hilary, which this Sunday was downgraded to a tropical storm, heads towards the southwestern United States with the risk of “catastrophic flooding” due to the heavy rains it will produce, said the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Hilary, which made landfall early this Sunday in Baja California (Mexico), moves on firm ground in a north-northwest direction and is expected to reach southern California this afternoon, where rains are already being recorded, as well as than in Nevada and Arizona.
Although it will arrive in the weaker southwest of the United States, NHC meteorologists warn of tropical storm conditions and possible “catastrophic flooding” as a consequence of heavy rains in this area, where authorities have asked the population to stay at home.
Since Saturday afternoon, residents of the mountainous communities of Oak Glen, Forest Falls, Mountain Home Village, Angelus Oaks, and Northeast Yucaipa, in the Californian county of San Bernardino, have been under an evacuation order.
The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, declared a state of emergency in southern counties as a preventive measure before the arrival of Hilary, which is the first tropical storm to impact the south of this state in 84 years, according to local media.
Hilary’s arrival has prompted the deployment in this area of 7,500 National Guard troops, as well as personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which monitors the development of the storm.
In a statement to CNN, the administrator of this government agency, Deanne Criswell, asked residents this Sunday to take the storm seriously.
More than 18,000 soldiers were deployed to care for those affected.
The beaches of the California counties of San Diego and Orange are closed as a precautionary measure before the arrival of Hilary, which will produce accumulations of water of up to 15 centimeters in this area due to the rains, which will continue until Monday in southern California and Nevada.
In the town of Phoenix, in Arizona, meteorologists forecast heavy rains throughout this Sunday, while in Nevada local authorities expect the storm to cause up to 18 centimeters of rain in some parts, which would be a record in the state.
Hilary has already claimed a life when a man tried to cross a stream in his car and was swept away by the current in the Mexican municipality of Mulegé, in Baja California Sur, local authorities reported.
The NHC warns that dangerous flooding can occur even as far as parts of the states of Idaho and Oregon, located north of California.
National parks such as Death Valley and Mojave have been closed as an emergency measure, and even the SpaceX firm postponed the launch of a rocket with satellites on board from California.
According to the specialized website FlightAware, 80 flights that were to depart from terminals in southern California have been canceled this Sunday.
