Hurricane Hilary Hits Mexico, California

In the southwestern United States and parts of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico, Hilary dropped torrential rainfall on Saturday as officials issued warnings of the hurricane's potential for "catastrophic and life-threatening" flooding.

According to the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, the storm's intensity decreased from a potent Category 4 to Category 2 on Saturday, but it was still considered capable of causing "extensive damage," and hurricane conditions were anticipated to persist along the Baja California coast through Sunday morning, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).

According to the NHC, Hilary had maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour (175 kilometers per hour) by Saturday afternoon, with greater gusts.

"Heavy rains" were affecting portions of Baja California and the southwestern United States, with "catastrophic and life-threatening flooding likely."

"The center of Hilary will move close to the west-central coast of the Baja California Peninsula tonight and Sunday morning then move across southern California Sunday afternoon and Sunday night," the hurricane center said.

The storm is expected to weaken to a tropical storm before reaching southern California and southern Nevada, with heavy rainfalls and flooding still possible.

Residents and workers in the Mexican tourist resort of Cabo San Lucas have put up protective boarding and laid thousands of sandbags as large waves began crashing ashore.

Military personnel were seen patrolling the beach in the city, a popular destination for both Mexican and foreign tourists.

"We took all the precautionary measures last night," Omar Olvera told on Saturday at the Cabo San Lucas beachfront restaurant where he works.

With sandbags piled protectively around the restaurant, he said, "We're just looking out for the workers and waiting for the weather to come."

Streets in the town of Todos Santos, on the west coast of the peninsula, were largely deserted Saturday while the beach in nearby Cerritos was closed due to rough waves.

"Last night we felt the wind picking up, it wasn't as strong as we were expecting but it still caused us to worry," said Marco Segura, a 57-year-old worker in Cerritos.

The Mexican government deployed almost 19,000 soldiers in the states most affected by the storm, while the federal electric utility has sent 800 workers and hundreds of vehicles to deal with eventual outages.

In the United States, "rainfall amounts of three to six inches, with isolated amounts of 10 inches, are expected across portions of southern California and southern Nevada," the NHC said.

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 was quoted as saying by US media. "This is a very, very dangerous and significant storm."

The US Federal Emergency Management Agency has deployed teams to areas targeted by Hilary ahead of the storm, and President Joe Biden was receiving regular updates as he prepared to head to Hawaii to survey damage from a devastating wildfire.

"He has encouraged everyone to make sure that they are aware of what this dangerous storm is potentially going to bring and to listen to their local officials on the steps they can take to make sure that they are keeping safe," FEMA chief Deanne Criswell said.

Games scheduled on Sunday in the US region have been rescheduled by Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer.

Every year, hurricanes strike Mexico's Pacific and Atlantic shores. Cyclones seldom impact California with tropical storm strength, though their remnants occasionally do.

Storms are getting stronger as the planet warms due to climate change, according to scientists.