Hurricane Hilary barrels in the direction of Baja California peninsula, southwest US

AFP

Hurricane Hilary hurtled in the direction of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, a US authorities company mentioned, blanketing the area with heavy rain amid warnings of catastrophic and life-threatening flooding on the peninsula and the US Southwest.

One man died within the Baja California Sur state when a household of 5 was swept away into the ocean whereas crossing a stream, in keeping with a Mexican official, who additionally shared photographs of flooded and roads that had been swept away within the space.

In the US, the hurricane was disrupting flights and sports activities video games.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) mentioned the hurricane was weakening on its path to the west-central coast of the peninsula on Saturday night. It predicted it could lose extra power and switch right into a tropical storm because it heads in the direction of southern California on Sunday.

But harmful rains and coastal storm surges stay a serious concern, the NHC mentioned, with as much as 25 cm of rainfall anticipated in some areas of Baja California and California.

“Flash and urban flooding, locally catastrophic, is expected, especially in the northern portions of the peninsula,” the Miami-based company mentioned in its newest advisory.

Rainfall of three to six inches, with remoted quantities of 10 inches, was anticipated throughout parts of southern California and southern Nevada as properly, the NHC added.

“Dangerous to catastrophic flooding is expected,” the NHC mentioned.

US President Joe Biden acquired a briefing from senior workers on preparations for the hurricane and his staff’s work with state and native businesses forward of the storm, the White House mentioned.

In the Baja California peninsula, some faculty and different non-essential actions had been canceled by means of Monday, and authorities in Mexico’s second-largest metropolis, Tijuana, urged individuals in high-risk zones to maneuver to momentary shelters.

Images shared on social media confirmed flash floods within the coastal city of Santa Rosalia, on the japanese aspect of the Baja California peninsula, with water gushing down what was a street, sweeping away a tree.

Some 48 km south, within the city of Mulege, the place the one particular person died when crossing a stream, Municipal President Edith Aguilar Villavicencio mentioned on her Facebook account that Mexico’s Navy and native firefighters had been rescuing individuals.

As of 0600 GMT, Hilary was about 450 miles south-southeast of San Diego, the NHC mentioned. The storm was transferring north-northwest at practically 32 kph, packing most sustained winds of practically 85 mph.

US authorities have warned residents and companies to take precautions.

Nearly 200 flights scheduled for Sunday on the San Diego International Airport have been canceled and one other 184 on Monday, in keeping with the FlightAware web site.

In California, Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles-based Dodgers and Angels introduced their Sunday video games ahead to Saturday to show them into cut up doubleheaders.

The metropolis’s soccer groups, Los Angeles FC and LA Galaxy, each postponed their Sunday matches as a result of risk of heavy rains and flooding.