Hurricane Hilary barrels towards eastern Mexico and California
Heavy rain brings warnings of catastrophic and life-threatening flooding
20 August 2023 - 19:50
byDrazen Jorgic
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A man boards up the windows of a restaurant ahead of Hurricane Hilary, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico August 18 2023. Picture: MOSERRAT ZAVALA/REUTERS
Mexico City — Hurricane Hilary hurtled towards Mexico’s Baja California peninsula on Sunday, blanketing the region with heavy rain amid warnings of catastrophic and life-threatening flooding on the peninsula and in the US southwest.
One man died in the Baja California Sur state when a family of five was swept away into the sea while crossing a stream, according to a Mexican official, who also shared images of flooding and roads that were swept away in the area.
In the US, the hurricane disrupted flights and sports games before it arrived.
Early on Sunday, the hurricane was carrying top sustained winds of 140km/h, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. The centre of the hurricane was forecast to move close to the west-central coast of the Baja California peninsula in the next few hours and then across southern California on Sunday afternoon.
Hilary is expected to weaken but is likely remain a hurricane as it passes near Baja California, becoming a tropical storm before reaching southern California, the NHC said.
Storm surges — when the ocean is pushed inland — could produce coastal flooding in parts of Baja California and the hurricane is carrying heavy rain that could cause catastrophic flooding in some areas, the NHC said.
Rainfall of 7.6cm to 15cm, with isolated amounts of 25.4cm, is expected across the northern Baja California peninsula as well as portions of southern California and southern Nevada, the Miami-based agency said in its latest advisory.
People walk along the beach in Pacific Beach area as Tropical Storm Hilary approaches San Diego, California, the US, August 20 2023. Picture: SANDY HUFFAKER/REUTERS
On Sunday morning Hilary was about 625km south-southeast of San Diego, the NHC said. It was moving north-northwest at 33km/h.
US President Joe Biden received a briefing on Saturday from senior staff on preparations for the hurricane, the White House said.
In the Baja California peninsula, some school and other non-essential activities were cancelled, and authorities in Mexico’s second-largest city, Tijuana, urged people in high-risk zones to move to temporary shelters.
Images shared on social media showed flash floods in the coastal town of Santa Rosalia, on the eastern side of the Baja California peninsula, with water gushing down what used to be a road, sweeping away a tree.
About 50km south, in the town of Mulege, where the one person died when crossing a stream, municipal president Edith Aguilar Villavicencio said on her Facebook account that Mexico’s navy and local firefighters were rescuing people.
US authorities in affected areas warned residents and businesses to take precautions.
Nearly 200 flights scheduled for Sunday at the San Diego International Airport have been cancelled and another 184 on Monday, according to the FlightAware website.
In California, Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles-based Dodgers and Angels brought their Sunday games forward to Saturday to turn them into split double headers.
The city’s soccer teams, Los Angeles FC and LA Galaxy, both postponed their Sunday matches due to threat of heavy rains and flooding.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Hurricane Hilary barrels towards eastern Mexico and California
Heavy rain brings warnings of catastrophic and life-threatening flooding
Mexico City — Hurricane Hilary hurtled towards Mexico’s Baja California peninsula on Sunday, blanketing the region with heavy rain amid warnings of catastrophic and life-threatening flooding on the peninsula and in the US southwest.
One man died in the Baja California Sur state when a family of five was swept away into the sea while crossing a stream, according to a Mexican official, who also shared images of flooding and roads that were swept away in the area.
In the US, the hurricane disrupted flights and sports games before it arrived.
Early on Sunday, the hurricane was carrying top sustained winds of 140km/h, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. The centre of the hurricane was forecast to move close to the west-central coast of the Baja California peninsula in the next few hours and then across southern California on Sunday afternoon.
Hilary is expected to weaken but is likely remain a hurricane as it passes near Baja California, becoming a tropical storm before reaching southern California, the NHC said.
Storm surges — when the ocean is pushed inland — could produce coastal flooding in parts of Baja California and the hurricane is carrying heavy rain that could cause catastrophic flooding in some areas, the NHC said.
Rainfall of 7.6cm to 15cm, with isolated amounts of 25.4cm, is expected across the northern Baja California peninsula as well as portions of southern California and southern Nevada, the Miami-based agency said in its latest advisory.
On Sunday morning Hilary was about 625km south-southeast of San Diego, the NHC said. It was moving north-northwest at 33km/h.
US President Joe Biden received a briefing on Saturday from senior staff on preparations for the hurricane, the White House said.
In the Baja California peninsula, some school and other non-essential activities were cancelled, and authorities in Mexico’s second-largest city, Tijuana, urged people in high-risk zones to move to temporary shelters.
Images shared on social media showed flash floods in the coastal town of Santa Rosalia, on the eastern side of the Baja California peninsula, with water gushing down what used to be a road, sweeping away a tree.
About 50km south, in the town of Mulege, where the one person died when crossing a stream, municipal president Edith Aguilar Villavicencio said on her Facebook account that Mexico’s navy and local firefighters were rescuing people.
US authorities in affected areas warned residents and businesses to take precautions.
Nearly 200 flights scheduled for Sunday at the San Diego International Airport have been cancelled and another 184 on Monday, according to the FlightAware website.
In California, Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles-based Dodgers and Angels brought their Sunday games forward to Saturday to turn them into split double headers.
The city’s soccer teams, Los Angeles FC and LA Galaxy, both postponed their Sunday matches due to threat of heavy rains and flooding.
Reuters
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