Hurricane Hilary lost intensity as it approached the coast of Mexico, down to Category 1 (on a scale of 1 to 5), but could still cause “catastrophic” flooding, according to the US National Weather Service. .
According to the latest information, the hurricane is heading towards the Baja California peninsula, in the southwest of the country, and is still considered dangerous, although it should already hit the region as a tropical storm.
The National Weather Center in Miami said in an advisory this morning that the storm was about 30 miles (45 kilometers) south of Punta Eugenia, Mexico, and 385 miles (625 kilometers) from San Diego, California. The maximum wind speed remained unchanged at around 135 km/hour, while “heavy rains” were recorded in the north of the peninsula.
A person drowned on Saturday in the Mexican city of Santa Rosalía, on the peninsula’s east coast, when a vehicle was swept away by an overflowing stream. Rescue teams managed to save four other people, said Edith Aguilar Villavicencio, mayor of the municipality of Mulege.
According to forecasters, the storm is still expected to go down in history as the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, causing flash flooding, mudslides, isolated tornadoes, high winds and power outages, with Gov. from California, Gavin Newsom. , to proclaim a state of emergency now.
The forecast led authorities to issue an evacuation notice on Santa Catalina Island, urging residents and beachgoers to evacuate the tourist destination. Forecasters also expected the storm to send waves up to 40 feet high along Mexico’s Pacific coast.
The White House said President Joe Biden was briefed on the latest preparedness plans before the hurricane hits. “I urge everyone in the path of this storm to take precautions and heed the instructions of state and local authorities,” the US president said.
On Friday, Hilary quickly became an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 230 km/h. Its winds then dropped early Saturday morning to 185 km/h, falling to a Category 3 hurricane, before weakening further to 161 km/h winds as a Category 2 hurricane.
Source: TSF
