Crews work to clear mud and debris from California roads after Storm Hilary
Less than 24 hours after Tropical Storm Hilary wreaked havoc across parts of California and Nevada, another cyclone – Tropical Storm Harold – has made landfall in southern Texas.
The cyclone came ashore in Padre Island at 10am local time on Tuesday with maximum sustained winds of 50mph, according to the National Weather Service. Texas is now facing flash flooding, strong winds and possible tornadoes and multiple watches and alerts have been issued.
Hilary, which caused one death in Mexico, was the first tropical storm to hit California in almost a century and deluged cities including Los Angeles and San Diego before moving north into Nevada.
Widespread power outages impacted the region and led to a major hospital being evacuated in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of LA.
The clean-up was beginning on Tuesday after rivers of mud and torrential downpours swamped communities including a number of resort towns in the Coachella Valley.
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Pictured: The clean-up in Coachella Valley
An aerial view of a maintenance vehicle clearing mud near stranded vehicles along a flooded street after Tropical Storm Hilary floodwaters inundated the area on August 21, 2023 in Cathedral City, California. Much of Southern California and parts of Arizona and Nevada are cleaning up after being impacted by the tropical storm that brought several inches of rain that flooded roadways and winds that toppled trees and power lines across the region
(Getty Images)
Louise Boyle22 August 2023 18:40
One death reported in wake of Hilary
Hilary first slammed into Mexico’s arid Baja California Peninsula as a hurricane this weekend, causing one death and widespread flooding before becoming a tropical storm as it moved towards California.
So far, no deaths, serious injuries or extreme damages have been reported in California, though officials warned that risks remain, especially in the mountainous regions where the wet hillsides could unleash mudslides.
Louise Boyle22 August 2023 18:20
Watch: Tropical Storm Harold expected to come ashore on Tuesday
Tropical storm forms off Texas coast, expected to come ashore
Louise Boyle22 August 2023 18:02
All the wildfires in Europe mapped as 20 killed in Greece and hospital evacuated
Wildfires continue to cause chaos in Europe as firefighters in Greece and Tenerife tackle blazes in soaring heat.
Devastating blazes in central Greece left two dead and two firefighters injured on Monday, while fires consumed the city of Alexandroupolis, damaging a school, a cemetery and several homes. And on Tuesday, the bodies of 18 people were found in a forest after a fire struck an area in the north east of the country.
In a separate incident, around 65 of the more than 100 patients in the Alexandroupolis hospital in north-eastern Greece were transported to a ferry docked in the city’s port, as hot, dry and windy conditions have kept fires stoked for four days.
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Louise Boyle22 August 2023 17:40
Watch: California military base damaged by Tropical Storm Hilary
California military base damaged by Tropical Storm Hilary
Louise Boyle22 August 2023 17:20
California cleans up
Crews worked to dig roads, buildings and care home residents out of the mud across a wide swath of Southwestern U.S. desert Monday, as the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years headed north, prompting flood watches and warnings in half a dozen states.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Tropical Storm Hilary had lost much of its force as it headed to the Rocky Mountains, but warned that “continued life-threatening and locally catastrophic flooding” was expected in parts of the region.
Forecasters said the threat for flooding in states farther north on Monday was highest across much of southeastern Oregon into the west-central mountains of Idaho, with potential thunderstorms and localized torrential rains on Tuesday.
Louise Boyle22 August 2023 17:03
Pictured: Tropical Storm Harold to make landfall in southern Texas at noon
(National Hurricane Center)
Louise Boyle22 August 2023 16:41
Hilary’s rains help wildfire-fighting efforts in Washington state
From the collision of deadly, climate-driven disasters in the United States emerged a small sliver of good fortune on Monday.
After deluging Mexico, California and Nevada, Tropical Storm Hilary moved north and brought some much-needed rain over the wildfires raging in Washington state.
The overlap of the events was seen in satellite imagery shared by the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) at Colorado State University on Monday. Researchers noted that heavy smoke from fires in the Northwest, and also in British Columbia, Canada, was visible outside of the storm’s cloud cover.
Two people were killed by the Washington wildfires this weekend amid a state of emergency. Two large fires broke out in the US Northwest region, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) reported on Monday, close to the city of Spokane.
Louise Boyle22 August 2023 16:20
Watch: Storm Hilary causes flash flooding and erosion to roads in Southern Nevada
Storm Hilary causes flash flooding and erosion to roads in Southern Nevada
Louise Boyle22 August 2023 16:00
Power goes down at major Los Angeles hospital
A major hospital in Los Angeles was evacuated overnight on Tuesday after a power outage in the wake of Tropical Storm Hilary.
White Memorial Hospital in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of the city went dark just before midnight on Monday and immediately began evacuating critical and non-critical patients.
LA Fire Department helped medical staff get patients down the stairs as the elevators were also out of service.
Fire officials told FOX11 a baby was delivered by flashlight during the evacuation and that both the newborn and mother were in good condition.
Louise Boyle22 August 2023 15:42