The southern part of California has been hit by a massive flood leaving residents in that area in shock. The heavy rainfall began on Saturday through to Monday morning.
The National Hurricane Centre has warned that some of the flooding could be very life-threatening. The heavy rainfall has already turned some roads into a gushing stream.
Following the catastrophic incident of Hurricane Hilary, we bring you some interesting facts we have gathered on what is happening in California.
1. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency on Saturday ahead of the storm’s arrival, with flash flood warnings in place until early Monday.
Upon the direction of the Governor, over 7,500 boots were made available on the ground to be deployed to help local communities protect residents from the impact of Hilary.
The Governor while visiting California National Guard troops in San Diego signed an emergency proclamation. Emergency Medical Service Authority has assets on standby to augment local capacity, aid in evacuations and support medical needs in communities impacted by flooding.
The EMSA was ready to assist with Ambulance Strike Teams as necessary to support local communities and also the Flood Operation Centre has been activated and has flood-fight materials available should they be needed.
2. Hurricane Hilary has turned roads into rivers and downed trees
The severe flood from Hurricane Hilary has seen roads in the Southern part of California partially submerged. Vehicles that were plying the roads during the time of the heavy rainfall have been partially submerged.
In a photo sighted by thedistin.com on NBC News., a tow truck driver can be seen attempting to pull a stranded car out of floodwaters on the Golden State Freeway as Hilary moved through the area on Sunday in Sun Valley, a neighbourhood in Los Angeles.
3. Hurricane Hilary caused the closure of Schools in California and Nevada.
Following the heavy rainfall that has hit Southern parts of California, a number of schools in the area have been closed down on Monday.
In a statement shared on X, the school district of Los Angeles made an announcement so as not to put the lives of students and employees at risk.
They said, “We are expecting winds which may adversely impact our transportation network and system, putting students and employees at risk.”
Other school districts such as the San Diego School District and Nye County School District have followed in the footstep of Los Angeles School to announce the closure of schools on Monday.
Schools with closures have made plans to resume on Tuesday, however, it will depend on the situation of the flood.
4. First Tropical Storm To Hit Southern California in 84 Years.
Hurricane Hilary is the first tropical storm to hit the southern part of California in 84 years. The last time a storm of this magnitude occured was in 1939.
The Tropical storm has brought a deluge of heavy rains to California, sparking flash floods east and west of Los Angeles with its historic arrival.
5. Forecasters have warned of life threatening floods in Southwest of California.
The National Hurricane Centre has forcasted that the storm could produce a possibly historic amount of rainfall that could cause “life-threatening to locally catastrophic” flash flooding in the Southwest.
As such residents have been advised to move safer grounds or stay at home.
6. 911 Outage in Palm Springs
The stormed has render brought down the 911 call system in Palm Springs. This happened Sunday night due to the impact of Hurricane Hilary.
However, the department said that residents could text 911 or go to the nearest police and fire station to ask for help.
7. Hurricane Hilary has broken all rainfally daily records
The National Weather Service in a tweet has revealed that this historic rainfall has broken all daily rainfall records.
Lake Palmdale, about 60 miles north of L.A., saw nearly 6 inches of rain. The city of Thousand Oaks, about 45 miles west of L.A., saw 3.29 inches.
Meanwhile, in L.A. proper, the UCLA campus saw 4.26 inches of rainfall, and Downtown L.A. saw 2.38 inches.
