Tropical Storm Hilary, which formed as a hurricane in the Pacific Ocean last week, traveled north along Mexico’s Baja Peninsula before beginning to impact southern California on August 20. Parts of the southwestern U.S., which had not experienced a tropical storm since 1939, were inundated with historic rains that brought about catastrophic flooding in several areas and life-threatening situations across the region.
The storm passed through San Diego and the Los Angeles area before reaching Las Vegas and the Nevada high desert. News reports suggest that devastating floods severely impacted Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley, while flash flood warnings covering wide swaths of southern California were issued at various times during the storm. Normally dry arroyos were filled with torrents of water, as mountainous and desert areas of the state received a year’s-worth of water in just a few hours.
Individuals experiencing homelessness were among the residents most at risk from the floods. Advocates in L.A. and San Diego moved quickly to help individuals living on the street avoid the worst impacts, and homeless service providers moved to open emergency shelters to boost capacity in advance of the storm. According to FEMA, several homeless encampments were cleared by authorities due to flooding risk in Ventura and other L.A. counties, while five encampments in Orange County were evaluated for removal but ultimately left in place. Evacuation warnings were also issued, and approximately 9,000 residents were evacuated from impacted areas.
NLIHC facilitates the Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC), a group of more than 850 local, state, and national organizations working to ensure that all disaster survivors receive the assistance they need to recover. We will continue to track the impact of this tropical storm on households with low incomes and work to ensure the availability and accessibility of disaster assistance.
Find out more about the DHRC at: https://bit.ly/2NOHusW