California braces for imminent storm Hilary arrival

The US state of California is bracing itself for tropical storm Hilary, which is already bringing fierce winds and flooding to Mexico’s Pacific coast.

It is lashing the Mexican state of Baja California with winds of 70 mph (119km/h). One man died there trying to cross a stream in his car.

Hilary is predicted to weaken as it moves north and should reach California on Sunday afternoon local time.

It would be the state’s first tropical storm in 84 years.

The last time a tropical storm made landfall in southern California was in Long Beach in 1939.

Experts say recent abnormal weather events that have plagued the US – and several areas across the globe – have been influenced by human-caused climate change.

The storm made landfall in the northern part of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula at 11:00 local time (18:00 GMT) on Sunday,the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

It warned that Hilary could cause “life-threatening” floods in both countries.

Across California, residents have been putting out sandbags, including in Long Beach and Palm Springs.

Eugenie Adler, a resident of Long Beach, told Reuters: “Flooding where people lose some property is one thing, but flooding where people die is another. And I’m afraid people might die.”

Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass called it “an unprecedented weather event”.

“But Los Angeles has deep experience responding to crises whether it be wildfire or earthquakes,” she said. “The city is prepared.”

Nearly 26 million people in the south-western US are under flood watch.

Hilary was downgraded to a Category 1 storm after weakening on Saturday, but officials kept up their warnings.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 240 miles (390 km) from its centre, according to the NHC.

Nancy Ward, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, said Hilary could be one of the worst storms to hit the state in more than a decade.

“Make no mistake,” she told a press conference on Saturday. “This is a very, very dangerous and significant storm.”

Up to 10 in (25cm) of rain is expected in parts of Mexico, California and Nevada, according to the NHC. On Sunday, rain began to fall in southern California deserts.

There is a risk of tornadoes from mid-morning through Sunday evening in parts of the Colorado River Valley, Mojave Desert and Imperial Valley.

As the storm approached, Major League Baseball rescheduled three games in southern California, while SpaceX postponed the launch of a rocket from its base on the central California coast until at least Monday.

The National Park Service also closed Joshua Tree National Park and Mojave National Preserve, both in California, to prevent visitors from being stranded in the event of flooding.

In Mexico, 18,000 soldiers were placed on standby to assist in rescue efforts.

The man who died in Baja California Sur state was in a car with his wife and children, Mexican officials said – his family survived.

Torrential downpours submerged houses in the town of Santa Rosalia, where muddy water cascaded down the main street.

Extreme weather has recently caused chaos across North America.

The damage was escalated by hurricane winds passing through the area.