On dead as tropical storm Hilary unleashes flash floods in California
RANCHO MIRAGE, California (Reuters) - 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 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.
To the west in more populated Ventura County, the National Weather Service warned of life-threatening flooding where up to 2 inches (5 cm) of rain fell within two hours. The weather service reported cars stuck in the community of Spanish Hills, where it said firefighters conducted swift water rescues.
Newsom, on a tour of Southern California, said Palm Springs, a desert getaway in Riverside County about 100 miles (160 km) east of Los Angeles, was dry when he left on Sunday but an hour later it had received "the most significant rainfall over a 60-minute period any time in the history of Palm Springs." The streets were soon flooded.
"That's how quickly this system is moving. Take nothing for granted," Newsom told a news briefing in Los Angeles after he said he updated U.S. President Joe Biden, who ordered federal agencies to move personnel and supplies into the region.
