Tropical storm Hilary was continuing to obliterate rainfall records in Los Angeles on Sunday night, and isn’t expected to let up on Monday.
The rain from Hilary–formerly a Category 4 hurricane–fell as a magnitude-5.1 earthquake hit Southern California on Sunday afternoon, rocking Los Angeles and the surrounding area at the same time it was dealing with the rare tropical storm—which hasn’t hit the area since 1939.
Centered near Ojai, about 80 miles northwest of L.A., the earthquake produced at least six reported aftershocks of magnitude-3.0 or more, and yet despite Sunday’s events, officials are warning that the worst could be yet to come in the region.
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Downtown Los Angeles had seen 1.53 inches of rain as of 6:45 p.m, breaking its previous record of .03 inches, which was set in 1906. Meanwhile LAX saw an estimated 1.28 inches of rain, breaking a record set over two decades ago. Long Beach Airport (1.56 inches), Hollywood Burbank Airport (1.61 inches) and Palmdale Airport (2.95 inches), also topped previous records. The National Weather Service was among those to warn that even more rain was set to arrive overnight.
“We haven’t seen the strength of the rain just yet,” Mayor Karen Bass said at a press conference Sunday. “We know that it could get much worse. People might feel a little okay because it hasn’t been that bad.”
“The wind has not yet arrived,” California Governor Gavin Newsom added. “And that’s coming right behind.” The National Hurricane Center said strong winds are expected to spread well inland across the western United States.
The National Weather Service has warned of “life-threatening to locally catastrophic flash, urban, and arroyo flooding” in the affected areas, which includes California, Arizona and Nevada. The storm is expected to keep moving north into Monday with “peak intensity” expected late Sunday to early Monday.
An overnight update from the National Hurricane Center said a “potentially historic amount of rainfall” is expected Monday to cause “life-threatening to locally catastrophic flash, urban and arroyo flooding,” including the added potential of landslides, mudslides, and debris flows early Monday.
States of emergencies have been declared in California and Nevada; two of the states expected to be the worst hit by Hilary.
Multiple rescues were taking place Sunday night and early Monday morning, including 9 people who were rescued from a riverbed near Morena Blvd bridge in San Diego. At the Santa Clara River in Ventura County, the Ventura County Fire Department was searching for three missing person believed to be trapped in the river. Two people were found while one is unaccounted for, authorities said. Meanwhile, a number of vehicles were also seen stranded in floodwaters in North Hollywood.
Tropical Storm Hilary made landfall earlier Sunday on the Baja California peninsula of Mexico, with floodwaters overwhelming streets. Heavy rain forced flash-flood warnings for at least 9 million people ahead of the worst of the storm. That number rose to 21 million people under a Tropical Storm Warning issued in Southern California, covering areas from Los Angeles to the US-Mexico border, including San Diego.
One person reportedly died in Mexico on Saturday night, prior to Hilary touching down in the U.S., after a vehicle was swept away by the rushing water.
The National Weather Service said that the core of the storm hit the California coast sometime before 3 p.m. Sunday when it crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.
The hurricane’s high winds thrashed Southern California, with a 72-mph gust being recorded at Hauser Mountain near the border. The National Weather Service even issued a tornado warning in San Diego County on Sunday afternoon until 4:00 p.m., advising of the possibility of pea-sized hail in Alpine and Descanso.
In a remarkable feat of timing, the magnitude-5.1 earthquake hit just outside of Los Angeles Sunday afternoon.
There were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries, according to Bass.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a partial roof collapse at an apartment building and at least one water rescue, the chief revealed at a press conference Sunday. At least 15 reports of flooding have been fielded by the city, and at least 5,000 households are without power, according to the Department of Water and Power.
At the same presser, both Newsom and Bass pleaded with affected Californians to stay home. Newsom lauded the state’s preparation and response efforts, saying that in “This state, this is what we prepare for.”
He even expressed some gratitude to a longtime political rival.
“We have two people that came from Florida—thank you Ron DeSantis for sending two hurricane experts into the operation centers… it is one remarkable moment in time,” Newsom said.
In a statement Sunday evening, President Biden said he has federal resources in place to help, too.
“My Administration stands ready to provide additional assistance as requested,” he said. “I urge people to take this storm seriously, and listen to state and local officials.”
Los Angeles public schools have already been cancelled, the Unified School District Superintendent Sunday.
“Everything will be shut down,” Alberto Carvalho said, adding that he expects schools to be open fully on Tuesday.
The shocking phenomenon took social media by storm, with the hashtag #hurriquake trending on Twitter just minutes after the quake was reported.
