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Mexico, US southwest brace for severe flooding as Hurricane Hilary nears

Hilary nears landfall on Mexico's Baja California peninsula as a Category 1 hurricane carrying so much rain that forecasters say “catastrophic and life-threatening” flooding is likely across the southwestern US.

AFP

Forecasters said the storm was still expected to enter the history books as the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, bringing flash floods, mudslides, isolated tornadoes, high winds and power outages. / Photo: AFP

States across the typically arid US southwest have braced for torrential rain and potentially life-threatening flooding, as Hurricane Hilary barrelled up Mexico's coast, where authorities reported at least one fatality.

At its peak, the storm reached a Category 4 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, but is expected to weaken to a tropical storm before reaching southern California on Sunday afternoon, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

It was still packing nearly 140 kilometres per hour (85 miles per hour) sustained winds with stronger gusts as it blew across the Baja California Peninsula early Sunday morning, the NHC said.

"Heavy rains from Hilary spreading northward over the Baja Peninsula and the southwestern United States," the US government agency said. "Catastrophic and life-threatening flooding likely."

One person died in Mexico after a vehicle was swept away by a rising stream, Mexico's Civil Protection agency said in a statement on Saturday, while warning of landslides and road closures on the Baja California Peninsula.

Hilary is expected to track inland and north over the next day or two, depositing up to 25.4 centimetres of rain on parts of Mexico, California and Nevada, according to the NHC.

Hilary likely to trigger 'catastrophic' flooding in Baja California

Millions urged to take precautions

Tornadoes were also on the cards from mid-morning through Sunday evening in parts of the Colorado River Valley, Mojave Desert and Imperial Valley.

Despite slowing down, the storm remains treacherous, with millions of people urged to take precautions.

The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has deployed teams to areas in Hilary's path, while California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for much of the state's southern area.

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 told a press conference Saturday. "This is a very, very dangerous and significant storm."

As large waves crashed ashore and winds lashed the Mexican tourist resort of Cabo San Lucas on Saturday, residents and workers put up protective boarding and laid thousands of sandbags.

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

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 respond to any outages.

Hurricanes hit Mexico every year on both its Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Although the storms sometimes affect California, it is rare for cyclones to strike the state with much intensity.