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Pacific Hurricane Hilary: Warnings in Mexico and the United States
Pacific Hurricane Hilary has intensified into a category four out of five storm. photo
© Uncredited/NOAA/AP/dpa
A strong hurricane is raging over the Pacific. According to forecasts, “Hilary” will make landfall in northwestern Mexico. US President Biden warns people in California about heavy rains.
Before the arrival of the powerful Pacific hurricane “Hilary” are in Mexico has put more than 18,000 soldiers on alert. The cyclone is expected to make landfall on the Baja California peninsula early Sunday morning, the Mexican weather service said. The US Hurricane Center in Miami has warned that southern California in the United States must also be prepared for “life-threatening and potentially catastrophic flooding”. “Hilary” could trigger more rain there than it would otherwise fall in a whole year.
According to the US authorities, “Hilary” reached category four out of five on Friday off the northwest coast of Mexico. On Friday evening, the hurricane was about 495 kilometers southwest of the tourist coastal city of Cabo San Lucas with sustained wind speeds of up to 215 kilometers per hour. Remnants of the storm are already spreading across the southern portion of Baja California.
US President Joe Biden warned people in the US state of California of significant rainfall. “I urge all people in the storm-related area to take precautions and to listen to the advice of state and local authorities,” Biden said at a news conference at Camp David.
The hurricane was expected to weaken somewhat before making landfall in Mexico and being downgraded to a tropical storm near California on Sunday evening (local time). But even that is still unusual for the US region. A tropical storm warning has been issued for California for the first time in history.
First tropical storm to hit California since 1939
Emergency shelters have been set up in Mexico. The military is making preparations for a possible deployment to help affected people in the states along the Pacific coast, said President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Hurricanes and tropical storms regularly hit Mexico at this time of year. Hilary would be the first tropical storm to make landfall in California since 1939. At that time, dozens of people died because the residents of the region were not sufficiently prepared. The US Coast Guard predicted dangerous currents and strong winds for the coming days. “Stay away from the water,” they said.
Hurricane season begins May 15 in the Pacific and June 1 in the Atlantic. It will be declared over in both regions on November 30th. Tropical cyclones form over warm ocean water. Global warming increases the likelihood of severe storms. Wind speeds of 119 kilometers per hour or more are called a hurricane.