Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency as California braces for Hurricane Hilary to hit today.
Residents in the south of the state have been given evacuation orders ahead of the historic storm making landfall around 1pm.
The governor’s office has tried to reassure them extensive preparations are underway, including the deploying of ‘more than 7,500 boots on the ground’.
But panic buying has set in and some supermarket shelves in San Diego and Los Angeles were stripped bare of essentials such as water and tinned food.
The tropical storm, the first set to make landfall in California since 1939, could impact more than 42million people.
Governor Gavin Newsom signed a proclamation of a state of emergency for California on Saturday
Panic buying has stripped shelves bare in the supermarkets of San Diego and Los Angeles (pictured)
The historic storm is set to make landfall with Southern California around 1pm
Hurricane Hilary is currently registered as a Category 1 storm, downgraded from a Category 2 on Saturday night
A sandbank has been placed at Seal Beach in California in an attempt to mitigate the worst effects of the expected stormy waves
Calm before the storm: Eerie San Lucas awaits Hilary, set to hit on Sunday afternoon
‘California continues to mobilize ahead of Hurricane Hilary’s projected landfall in Southern California.
‘People are urged to take all necessary precautions today’ the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement on Saturday evening.
‘Governor Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency for much of Southern California to support Hurricane Hilary response and recovery efforts as the state continues mobilizing and coordinating resources ahead of the storm’s forecasted impacts starting today.
‘At the Governor’s direction, there are currently more than 7,500 boots on the ground deployed to help local communities protect Californians from the impacts of Hurricane Hilary,’ it read.
The state has prepared water rescue teams, California National Guard personnel and flood fighting equipment ahead of Hilary’s arrival, officials said.
Hurricane Hilary is currently registered as a Category 1 storm, downgraded from a Category 2 on Saturday night.
The National Hurricane Center warned Hilary could bring ‘catastrophic and life-threatening flooding’ to Baja California and the Southwestern US.
The threat has triggered California’s first ever tropical storm warning extending from the state’s southern border to just north of Los Angeles.
The storm may dump more than a year’s worth of rain on parts of the Southwest, the National Weather Service has warned.
Part of Nevada and Southern California may see as much as 10 inches of rainfall hit in a matter of hours.
The storm may dump more than a year’s worth of rain on parts of the Southwest, the National Weather Service has warned
Customers rush to purchase emergency preparation gear in Los Angeles on Saturday
Residents prepare sandbags provided by the City of Indio in a library parking lot as the path of Hurricane Hilary heads north toward southern California
Long Beach lifeguards fill up sandbags for residents ahead of Hurricane Hilary
People shovel sand from Seal Beach into sandbags with Hurricane Hilary approaching
Evacuation notices have been issued to residents in Oak Glen, Forest Falls, Mountain Home Village, Angelus Oaks, and NE Yucaipa by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s office.
On Saturday night the storm had sped up, moving at around 18 mph, around 500 miles southeast of San Diego.
It is expected to continue to weaken as it moves north-northwestward through cooler waters toward Southern California.
However, the harshest effects are expected later on Sunday and into Monday including possible winds of 90 miles per hour.
While visiting California National Guard troops, first responders and local officials on Saturday Newsom said ‘California has thousands of people on the ground working hand-in-hand with federal and local personnel to support communities in Hurricane Hilary’s path with resources, equipment and expertise.
‘We’re mobilizing all of government as we prepare and respond to this unprecedented storm.’
Nancy Ward, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, said Hilary ‘could be one of the most devastating storms that we’ve had hit California in more than a decade.’
‘Make no mistake, this is a very, very dangerous and significant storm.’ she told reporters at a Saturday news conference.
Gusts of wind from Hurricane Hilary are felt in the port area of Cabo San Lucas on Saturday
The port area of Cabo San Lucas, in Baja, Mexico, braces before the arrival of Hurricane Hilary on Saturday
The National Hurricane Center has warned Hilary could bring ‘catastrophic and life-threatening flooding’ to Baja California
A woman runs through the rain on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas on Saturday
A fence leans in the wind in Cabo San Lucas as the wind picks up ahead of Hilary’s arrival
The US Navy has announced it will send many of its warships out to San Diego Bay to help manage and secure boats in the port when the hurricane hits the region.
Officials in Los Angeles are setting up shelters and working to get homeless people who live in the city’s famous dry riverbed away from it, in anticipation of it being inundated with water.
Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department deputies urged homeless people living in dry riverbeds to seek shelter away from the storm.
Food, cots and shelters have also been arranged for those that need them.
President Joe Biden has said the Federal Emergency Management Agency had rallied staff and supplies in the at-risk areas.
‘I urge everyone, everyone in the path of this storm, to take precautions and listen to the guidance of state and local officials,’ he told reporters on Friday.
Elsewhere Major League Baseball rescheduled three of Sunday’s games in California in anticipation of dangerous weather conditions forecasted for Hurricane Hilary.
Schools in Mexico’s Cabo San Lucas were being readied to use as temporary shelters while police patrolled closed beaches in the Baja California Sur state to keep swimmers out.
Hilary will be the first tropical storm to make landfall in California since 1939.