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Photos: Tropical Storm Hilary batters Southern California

Tropical Storm Hilary slammed Southern Californian with torrential rain, causing widespread flooding and debris flows on Sunday into Monday morning.

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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.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.