California prepares for Hurricane Hilary
Tropical Storm Hilary is hammering California with “life-threatening” floods after making landfall in Mexico on Sunday and making its way up the West Coast into the southern US.
The storm – the first tropical storm to hit California since Nora in 1997 – is causing chaos across southern California, flooding streets and roads, downing power lines and plunging homes into darkness.
Los Angeles and San Diego are under tropical storm warnings with officials warning residents to shelter away from “catastrophic and life-threatening flooding”.
In Palm Springs, officials revealed that the storm had knocked out its 911 emergency phone system on Sunday night, while two people had to be rescued from floodwaters in Ventura County. A search was initially under way for a third person before officials said there was no one else believed to be in the river.
As California began bracing for the worst of the storm on Sunday afternoon, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake also struck in Ventura County.
Hurricane Hilary had weakened into a tropical storm before making landfall in the Baja California peninsula of Mexico on Sunday. At least one person was killed in the region after being swept away in floodwaters.
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Josh Marcus21 August 2023 10:01
What is ‘hurriquake’?
The term “hurriquake” began trending on social media on Sunday as a magnitude 5.1 earthquake hit Southern California while it was being lashed by thunderstorms from hurricane Hilary.
The two disasters, seen as being quite distinct despite happening at the same time, surprised many social media users and scientists, who said it is a rare phenomenon.
But might there be a connection between the two?
According to the US Geological Survey there is little probability of the events being connected.
However, there is some research on the subject.
Dr Marshall Sheperd, the director of the University of Georgia’s Atmospheric Sciences Programme, writes in Forbes that a Stony Brook University study demonstrates that stress on California’s famed fault lines is higher in years with more rainfall.
Stuti Mishra21 August 2023 09:30
ICYMI: Tropical Storm Hilary makes landfall, bringing risk of tornadoes and flooding for millions in California
Even before the centre of the storm began passing over land, Mexico’s Baja peninsula was inundated, with flood waters washing layers of earth over towns like Santa Rosalía.
The extreme weather, expected to pass over Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, has claimed at least one fatality already, a man in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur who was swept away in a stream on Saturday as he and his family attempted to cross by car, according to officials from the Mulege township.
Josh Marcus21 August 2023 09:01
PHOTOS: Tropical storm Hilary inundates California streets
A motorist walks out to remove belongings from his vehicle after becoming stuck in a flooded street
(AP)
Vehicles cross over a flood control basin that has almost reached the street
(AP)
A flooded homeless encampment is seen along California Route 14 in Palmdale
(AP)
A fire engine responds to a call through standing water on Indian Canyon Drive as Tropical Storm Hilary approaches Palm Springs, California
(REUTERS)
Stuti Mishra21 August 2023 08:30
ICYMI: Magnitude 5.1 earthquake hits Ventura County as Tropical Storm Hilary arrives in Southern California
The quake was centered in Ventura County, about 4 miles southeast of Ojai, which sits 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles.
Josh Marcus21 August 2023 07:59
Another tropical storm, Emily, forms in Atlantic
One of several budding storm systems in the Atlantic Ocean became tropical storm Emily on Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center, as California and Mexico continue to face dangerous flooding due to storm Hilary.
Emily was far from land, moving west in the open ocean, the NHC said.
Also, tropical storm Franklin formed in the eastern Caribbean while tropical storm watches were issued for the southern coasts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
Stuti Mishra21 August 2023 07:30
Shelter in place order issued for Forest Falls, Oak Glen Road
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has issued a Shelter In Place order for residents in Forest Falls and parts of Oak Glen.
“Due to the current rain, there is mud and debris blocking the roadway. A SHELTER IN PLACE ORDER is now in effect for the community of Forest Falls, and residents on Oak Glen Road, from Casa Blanca Street to Harris Road.”
Stuti Mishra21 August 2023 07:10
Hilary could bring once-in-a-century rains to other western states
Tropical storm Hilary, which has inundated cities across California and Mexico’s arid Baja region, could also hit other western states of the US with once-in-a-century rains.
Forecasts show there is a good chance of the storm becoming the wettest known tropical cyclone to douse Nevada, Oregon and Idaho.
As of Sunday night local time, Hilary was was expected to remain a tropical storm into central Nevada on Monday before dissipating.
Stuti Mishra21 August 2023 06:50
Palm Springs declares ‘local emergency’ as ‘critically dangerous impacts’ of Hilary continue
Local officials in Palm Springs declared an emergency over the arrival of Tropical Storm Hilary on Sunday, citing flooding, “unprecedented” rainfall, and a rescue of a local resident.
Stuti Mishra21 August 2023 06:30
Las Vegas airport loses power as Tropical Storm Hilary arrives
Inclement weather conditions from Tropical Storm Hilary have partially knocked out power to Las Vegas’s Harry Reid International Airport, according to local reporters.
Stuti Mishra21 August 2023 06:10