One person died in Mexico amid reports of flash flooding in the peninsula, where some roads were swept away.
Tropical Storm Hilary unleashed furious flash floods east and west of Los Angeles on Sunday as the system made its historic arrival in California after barreling 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 had 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 3 a.m. (1000 GMT) on Monday in a region that is more accustomed to drought.
Mountain and desert areas could get 5 to 10 inches of (12 to 25 cm) 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 70 miles (112 km) 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.
