Hurricane Hilary: Threat Of 'Catastrophic, Life-Threatening Floods' In Mexico And California — Details

Officials from as far north as Los Angeles hurried to get homeless people off the streets, set up shelters, and prepare for evacuations.

Representational Image.

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Hurricane Hilary is moving towards Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Saturday, bringing "catastrophic and life-threatening flooding" to the peninsula and the southwestern United States, where it is expected to make landfall as a tropical storm on Sunday, as predicted by the U.S. National Hurricane Center, news agency Associated Press (AP) reported. Officials from as far north as Los Angeles hurried to get homeless people off the streets, set up shelters, and prepare for evacuations.

Hilary is projected to make landfall on the Mexican peninsula on Saturday night, then surge northward to become the first tropical storm to impact Southern California in 84 years.

The National Hurricane Centre in the United States issued a tropical storm warning for a large area of Southern California, from the Pacific coast to the inland mountains and deserts. Officials discussed evacuation arrangements for Catalina Island in California.

“I don’t think any of us — I know me particularly — never thought I’d be standing here talking about a hurricane or a tropical storm,” Janice Hahn, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors was quoted by AP in its report.

Hilary slowed somewhat later in the day after rapidly gaining power on early Friday, but remained a significant Category 4 hurricane early Saturday with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 kph), down from 145 mph (230 kph).

The storm was centred approximately 260 miles (415 kilometres) west-southwest of the southern point of the Baja peninsula early Saturday. It was travelling north-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph) and was forecast to curve north and gain pace.

The most recent projected track showed Hilary making landfall in a sparsely populated area of the Baja peninsula around 200 miles (330 km) south of the Pacific port city of Ensenada.

It is then predicted to move north, prompting concerns that its torrential rains would bring deadly floods in the border city of Tijuana, where many houses cling precariously to steep slopes.

Mayor Montserrat Caballero Ramirez stated that the city was establishing four shelters in high-risk areas and issuing warnings to residents in such areas.

“We are a vulnerable city being on one of the most visited borders in the world and because of our landscape,” she was quoted by AP in its report.