Southern California Prepares For More Floods As Tropical Storm Hilary Soaks From Coast To Desert

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tropical Storm Hilary deluged arid parts of Mexico and then drenched Southern California from the coast to inland mountains and deserts, forcing rescuers to pull several people from swollen rivers.

Millions expected more flooding and mudslides Monday, even as the storm begins to weaken.

The storm first made landfall in Mexico’s arid Baja California Peninsula on Sunday in a sparsely populated area about 150 miles 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 the desert resort city of Palm Springs.