Calamity strikes: Tropical storm Hilary hits Mexico, Californians battle floods and quakes

In a shocking twist of events, Tropical Storm Hilary rampaged through Mexico’s northwestern Pacific Coast this Sunday with a fearsome force of 100 kilometres per hour winds, causing mayhem as far as California. To make matters worse for the usually parched southwestern United States, Hilary unloaded torrential rains, transforming streets into rivers and cities into waterlogged nightmares.

The warning bells couldn’t have been clearer. The National Weather Service has sent chills down the spine with its alarming statement: a “dangerous and life-threatening flash flooding situation” was emerging across key zones like Point Mugu, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, and the entirety of Los Angeles County. To add to the impending chaos, tornado alarms are sounding off across various locales.

Heart-stopping visuals flooded in from Los Angeles showing nature’s fury in full swing, with flash floods wreaking havoc across iconic places such as Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Pasadena, and more. The list was endless, with over seven million souls at risk.

Parents, hold onto your kids, as schools in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas slam their gates shut this Monday! Beaches, the soul of California, too, are off-limits, as panic-stricken locals make a beeline for stores, hoarding essentials to outlast the storm.

But Hilary wasn’t the only demon nature had in store. As Californians grappled with the storm, the earth trembled with a spine-chilling 5.1 magnitude earthquake near Ojai, although the gods spared them further harm for now.

Amidst this turmoil, Governor Gavin Newsom took to the stage, revealing President Joe Biden’s praise for California’s robust response system. Biden, in a heartfelt online statement, urged: “Listen to state and local officials. Take this storm seriously.”

History books will remember Hilary. Not only is it the first storm of its kind since Nora in ’97, but it’s also the fourth storm to pummel the state with such intensity. Even though it once roared as a Category 4 hurricane, it mercifully calmed before threatening Tijuana.

However, Deanne Criswell, the ever-watchful administrator of FEMA, issued a stern reminder to not let our guards down. Nature is unpredictable, and the weakening storm could still have some tricks up its sleeve.