As it passed through southern California, the rain brought by Tropical Storm Hilary did not claim any lives or injuries, although it did wreak havoc on the sewer system, down trees and puddles after flash floods.
And, although it is said that after the storm there is always calm and sunshine, that was exactly what happened when the worst of the storm was forecast for Monday.
Several school districts such as LAUSD, Pasadena, Fontana, Rialto, William S. Hart and Bear Valley closed schools as a precaution, as well as Cal State LA. and Pasadena City College.
However, calm did not come for various homeless people who live on the banks of the Los Angeles River.
Over the Imperial Highway Bridge and Highway 710 South, in South Gate, Jonathan Diaz wandered alone in the morning.
He was wearing three completely wet sweatshirts and old sweatpants.
The campaign house where he lived, near the train tracks, in the city of Downey had been demolished by municipal authorities. His few belongings were thrown in the trash.
“I have nothing,” Jonathan said, to La Opinión. “I used to live in Apple Valley with my boss [mamá]but she moved to Rialto with my sister, and my sister’s husband said that I couldn’t stay with them”.
For the past three months, Jonathan has been living in the vicinity of Old River School Road and Firestone Boulevard.
“I feel trapped in a box, and I want to get out of it,” he said. “I just want someone to offer me a job.”
The rain on Sunday, which was only a weakened remnant of what had been a powerful Hurricane Hilary, made landfall without much fury, but it was enough to also destroy the few belongings of Imelda Colin Mondragón.
Imelda, who has her cardboard “home”, near the train tracks, between Garfield Boulevard and Imperial Highway, in the city of South Gate, narrated that she ended up on the street, after divorcing the father of her three children. .
“Even though I don’t have food or anything to cover me from the cold, I won’t give up,” said Imelda, who said she studied for a career as a mental health therapist. “Right now I have all my clothes wet and if it rains again, I don’t have a jacket.”
Hilary turned out to be the first tropical storm warning issued by the National Weather Service for southern California. Before Sunday, a phenomenon of this nature had not made landfall in California since 1939.
After the danger passed, José López, who turns 80 on September 1, went out with his cart that collects glass and plastic bottles that his neighbors in the city of Paramount save for him weekly.
“I am diabetic and doing this job keeps me active; I don’t want the doctors to tell me one day that they are going to inject me with insulin,” José said, as he took a break and scratched off a lottery ticket.
In various areas of Paramount with heavy vehicular traffic, such as Somerset Boulevard, in the direction of Compton-Paramount, it was evident the large amount of pine leaves in all lanes that made driving there even more dangerous.
“Here, several cars were about to skid,” said Alde Gálvez, a Guerrero resident of that city, while Matilde Ibarra, from Sonora, reported that her neighbors at an Auto Glass business had to call the fire department because the car was covered. drainage as a result of the rains.
not trust
Earlier yesterday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass thanked residents for following the advice to be prepared and stay home during the worst of Tropical Storm Hilary.
At a press conference, Bass added that Angelenos should continue to be wary of potential impacts, considering that damage can sometimes occur in the hours and days after a storm hits, so we must remain vigilant.”
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho explained that on Monday they evaluated the campuses and found that at least two dozen schools had no telephone or internet service, and one had a slight landslide; However, it was expected that everything will return to normal on Tuesday, including the return of the students.
Meanwhile, Kristin Crowley, chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, said her crews responded to 1,833 emergency incidents during the storm and her dispatchers received more than 4,000 calls, or 1,000 more than the daily average.
While no major damage was reported Sunday, at least 41,000 LADWP customers were without power at some point, and some 18,000 remained without power as of Monday morning, in areas including Hollywood, Hyde Park and Pico-Union.
Hilary advances towards the northwest of the country
Storm Hilary, downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, advances this Monday towards the northwest of the United States and threatens to bring large amounts of rain to Nevada as it has done in California, where it left a large accumulation of water, especially in the southeast of the state.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), for its part, has already begun the task of assessing the damage in California and asked the inhabitants who are in the area of the storm to remain in their homes.
FEMA has already deployed two specialized teams to Sacramento, the capital of California, from where they will coordinate the response to face the storm with agencies in different states.
Hilary arrived in the United States on Sunday afternoon, leaving a large accumulation of rain especially in San Diego, the Coachella Valley and Palm Springs.
Interstate 10, which runs across the country from east to west, has been closed in California due to accumulated rainfall. Vehicles stranded in the middle of the streets were the common denominator in large cities like Los Angeles, where authorities remain vigilant and have asked the community not to approach the city’s main river and its drains.
Although Hilary arrived in California weakened as a tropical storm, it dropped more than half the average annual rainfall in some areas. In San Bernardino County, 34 centimeters of water accumulation was reached and Riverside County accumulated 29 centimeters.
In Los Angeles County, records were broken with 17 centimeters of accumulated water in the Leona Valley. A record rainfall of 5.8 centimeters was set in the center of the city, breaking the previous mark of 4.3 set in 1977 during Cyclone Doreen, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
In Mexico
The passage of tropical storm Hilary, which made landfall twice in Mexico on Sunday, once as a category 1 hurricane, has so far left four dead: two in the border city of Tijuana, one in Baja California Sur and another in Sinaloa, authorities notified this Monday.
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