Storm Hilary has flooded streets, downed power lines and triggered mudslides across Southern California after unleashing record-breaking downpours, but no US deaths have been attributed to the storm and fears of disaster have dissipated.
Hilary arrived in California as a rare tropical storm that dumped 0 to 12 centimetres of rain on coastal areas and 25 cm or more in the mountains, the National Weather Service said on Monday, local time.
In terrain more accustomed to drought, flash floods rushed through desert plains and mountain canyons, washing out roads.
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Rain clouds gave way to clearer skies on Monday as the storm moved north. Once recorded at hurricane strength off the coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, Hilary was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone as it moved over the North American mainland.
No fatalities or significant injuries were reported in the US. One man was killed in Mexico when his family was swept away while crossing a stream on Saturday, Mexican officials said.
Remnants of Hilary were expected to dump heavy rains in Nevada and Utah and into the Northwest, where more than four million people remained under the threat of flooding, the service said.
“Fortunately, Californians listened to their local officials and took the necessary preparedness actions to help protect themselves and their families,” FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell told reporters aboard Air Force One.
The storm produced flash floods in the San Gabriel Mountains east of Los Angeles and inundated more densely populated coastal areas of Ventura County northwest of the city. Inland desert towns around the resort of Palm Springs also got walloped.
In Cathedral City, a neighbour of Palm Springs about 190 kilometres east of Los Angeles, people raked out debris and assessed the damage on Monday after the water rose thigh high in some areas.
About 400 flights in and out of airports across the southwest were cancelled or delayed on Monday morning, including 100 landing at and taking off from San Diego International Airport, according to Flightaware.com.
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for much of southern California, while US President Joe Biden ordered federal agencies to move personnel and supplies into the region.
Record rains fell across Southern California in places like downtown Los Angeles and at airports in Burbank and Santa Barbara on Sunday, the weather service said.
In the middle of the storm on Sunday, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake hit north of Los Angeles.
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