Photos: Tropical Storm Hilary batters Southern California
Iman Palm
Tropical Storm Hilary slammed Southern Californian with torrential rain, causing widespread flooding and debris flows on Sunday into Monday morning.
The aftermath of a debris flow on SR-2 at the Sheep Creek bridge in San Bernardino County, California. Aug. 21, 2023. (Caltrans)
The aftermath of a debris flow on SR-2 at the Sheep Creek bridge in San Bernardino County, California. Aug. 21, 2023. (Caltrans)
A vehicle drives through a flooded freeway entrance in Palmdale, Calif. as a tropical storm moves into the area on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. Forecasters said Tropical Storm Hilary was the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, bringing the potential for flash floods, mudslides, isolated tornadoes, high winds and power outages. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
A worker drags caution tape to block off Pico Boulevard after a tree fell, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Los Angeles. Tropical Storm Hilary swirled northward Sunday just off the coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, no longer a hurricane but still carrying so much rain that forecasters said “catastrophic and life-threatening” flooding is likely across a broad region of the southwestern U.S.(AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
A mailbox stands on a flooded residential street in Palmdale, Calif., as a tropical storm moves into the area, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. Forecasters said Tropical Storm Hilary was the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, bringing the potential for flash floods, mudslides, isolated tornadoes, high winds and power outages. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Huntington Beach, California as Tropical Storm Hilary began to move into the region. Aug. 20, 2023. (KTLA)
Long Beach residents pull wagons with sandbags ahead of Hurricane Hilary in Long Beach, CA Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023. Hurricane Hilary roared toward Mexico’s Baja California peninsula late Saturday as a downgraded but still dangerous Category 2 hurricane that’s likely to bring “catastrophic” flooding to the region and cross into the southwest U.S. as a tropical storm. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Surfers look at crashing waves at Belmont Shore Beach as tropical storm Hilary approaches on Aug. 20, 2023 in Long Beach, (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Surfers look at crashing waves at Belmont Shore Beach as tropical storm Hilary approaches on Aug. 20, 2023 in Long Beach, (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Volunteers and members of the Long Beach Fire Department fill sandbags at Belmont Shore Beach on Aug. 20, 2023 in Long Beach, (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
A person surfs (LOWER R) in the Pacific Ocean with Tropical Storm Hilary approaching in San Diego County on Aug. 20, 2023 in Imperial Beach, (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
A vehicle drives through a flooded intersection as tropical storm Hilary makes landfall in Palm Springs on Aug. 20, 2023. ( JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Tents and belongings of unhoused people are seen near the rushing water of the Los Angeles River, near Griffith Park in Los Angeles on Aug. 20, 2023. Heavy rains lashed California as Tropical Storm Hilary raced in from Mexico, bringing warnings of potentially life-threatening flooding in the typically arid southwestern United States. (ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
A child plays in the rain, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Los Angeles. Tropical Storm Hilary swirled northward Sunday just off the coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, no longer a hurricane but still carrying so much rain that forecasters said “catastrophic and life-threatening” flooding is likely across a broad region of the southwestern U.S. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Joseph Wolensky stands in the street with a sign that says “You call this a storm?” Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Palm Desert. Forecasters said Tropical Storm Hilary was the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, bringing the potential for flash floods, mudslides, isolated tornadoes, high winds and power outages. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
A flooded homeless encampment is seen along California Route 14 in Palmdale, as a tropical storm moves into the area, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
Pedestrians fight strong winds and rain on Hollywood Boulevard during Tropical Storm Hilary, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
A waves breaks on the Pacific Ocean with Tropical Storm Hilary approaching in San Diego County on Aug. 20, 2023 in Imperial Beach, (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
A man crosses a flooded intersection as Tropical Storm Hilary heads north into Palm Springs on Aug. 20, 2023. (DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images)
A city employee retrieves a propane tank from a flooded bridge as tropical storm Hilary makes landfall in Rancho Mirage on Aug. 20, 2023. (JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
A cyclist and pedestrians cross a flooded street in Imperial Beach, California on Aug. 20, 2023. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)
Caltrans crews work to clear a debris flow near Sheep Creek Bridge in San Bernardino County, Calif. Aug. 21, 2023. (Caltrans)
The Ventura County Fire department responded to the 700 block of Trueno Avenue in the Camarillo Estates neighborhood on Aug. 20, 2023. (RMG News)
Rain from Tropical Storm HIlary caused this dangerous debris flow in the Oak Glen area of San Bernardino County, California. Aug. 20, 2023. (OnScene.TV)
Two people seen breaking out the inflatable raft as a tropical storm on Aug. 20, 2023, caused street flooding in Lancaster.
First responders were captured on camera during a Aug. 20, 2023 river rescue. (TikTok @TacosAndLaw)
Cars maneuver around a plow clearing debris along a flooded Sierra Highway in Palmdale, Calif., as Tropical Storm Hilary moves through the area on Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
A fast-moving mud and debris flow has closed Oak Glen Road at Pendleton on Aug. 20, 2023. (Inland News)
Vehicles cross over a flood control basin that has almost reached the street, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023, in Palm Desert, Calif. Forecasters said Tropical Storm Hilary was the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, bringing the potential for flash floods, mudslides, isolated tornadoes, high winds and power outages. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Maura Taura surveys the damaged cause by a downed tree outside her home after Tropical Storm Hilary went through on Aug. 21, 2023, in Sun Valley.(Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press)
A toppled tree from the tropical storm covers a car in Los Angeles on Aug. 21, 2023. (Stefanie Dazio/Associated Press)
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Tropical Storm Hilary first made landfall in Baja California on Sunday in a sparsely populated area about 150 miles (250 kilometers) south of Ensenada. One person drowned. It then moved through mudslide-prone Tijuana, threatening the improvised homes that cling to hillsides just south of the U.S. border.
The first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, Hilary dropped more than half an average year’s worth of rain on some areas, including Palm Springs, which saw more than 3 inches (8 centimeters) of rain by Sunday evening.
Forecasters warned of dangerous flash floods across Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, and fire officials rescued 13 people from knee-deep water in a homeless encampment along the rising San Diego River. Meanwhile, rain and debris washed out some roadways and people left their cars stranded in standing water. Crews pumped floodwaters out of the emergency room at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage.
