RANCHO MIRAGE (California) — Tropical Storm Hilary unleashed furious flash floods east and west of Los Angeles yesterday as the system made its historic arrival in California after barrelling through Mexico’s Baja California peninsula with deadly force.
One person died in Mexico amid reports of flash flooding in the peninsula, where some roads were swept away and images on social media showed raging torrents gushing down city streets that been turned into rivers.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for much of Southern California, with flash flood warnings in effect until at least 3am (6pm Malaysian time) on Monday in a region that is more accustomed to drought.
Mountain and desert areas could get 12 to 25cm rain, as much as the deserts typically see in a year, forecasters said.
The first tropical storm to pelt Los Angeles County since 1939 triggered serious flooding in the San Gabriel Mountains east of the city and coastal areas to the northwest in Ventura County.
San Bernardino County ordered evacuations of a number of towns in the mountains and valleys where social media images showed torrents of water, mud, rock and trees.
In Wrightwood, California, about 112km northeast of Los Angeles, the rain washed trees and mud down a hill in Sheep Canyon. Further east in Oak Glen — one of five San Bernardino County towns under evacuation orders — gushing floodwater threw trees, mud and rock into the air.
To the west in more populated Ventura County, the National Weather Service warned of life-threatening flooding where up to 5cm of rain fell within two hours. The weather service reported cars stuck in the community of Spanish Hills, where it said firefighters conducted swift water rescues.
