Photos: Tropical storm Hilary lashes California, Nevada; UAE issues warning

California: The first tropical storm to enter the region in decades hit Southern California on Sunday, bringing heavy rains, winds and flash floods to a place typically associated with palm trees, temperate weather and sunshine. Officials warned residents of heavy rainfall and "catastrophic flooding" over large swaths of California, including its cities, deserts, mountains and valleys.

Tropical storms with such destruction usually sweep over the Atlantic Coast this time of year, but a confluence of unusual weather conditions has put this storm in the Pacific, stretching it into Nevada, parts of Utah, and as far north as Idaho.

The UAE Consulate in Los Angeles has issued an advisory to all UAE citizens in the US in light of the impending rainstorm from tropical storm Hilary. Emphasising the importance of safety, the consulate urges citizens to strictly adhere to safety guidelines provided by US authorities.

For emergency situations, Emiratis can reach out to the consulate via the following hotline numbers: 0097180024 or 0097180044444. Additionally, the consulate has recommended citizens to register for the Twajudi service for further assistance and updates.

Hilary went from a hurricane to a tropical storm by the time it made landfall on Sunday over the northern Baja California peninsula of Mexico with winds of 65 mph. The storm killed a man on Sunday in Mexico's Baja California Sur, authorities said, after water swept away his car.

Hilary went from a hurricane to a tropical storm by the time it made landfall on Sunday over the northern Baja California peninsula of Mexico with winds of 65 mph. The storm killed a man on Sunday in Mexico's Baja California Sur, authorities said, after water swept away his car.

The storm forced Death Valley National Park to close and sandbag distributions to take place well inland. Also on Sunday, Californians felt a much more common natural disaster: a 5.1-magnitude earthquake centered near Ojai, about 80 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) had declared a state of emergency on Saturday, and Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) did the same on Sunday. Newsom said he had witnessed three accidents on the freeway while traveling from San Bernardino County to Los Angeles, illustrating the danger of flooded roads. "Do your best; be safe. If you don't have an essential reason to be out there - don't," Newsom said. Standing alongside Newsom during a briefing, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) warned that "the worst of the rains is potentially left to come." "Avoid unnecessary travel," she said.

Hilary moved fast toward the interior southwestern United States during the day and into Sunday night. The city of Henderson, Nev. - home to about 330,000 people in the metro Las Vegas area - planned to hand out sandbags in anticipation of flooding.

Forecasters predicted that rainfall of up to 10 inches in some places will lead to impassable roads, mudslides and other hazards as the storm makes its way inland. The NWS also cautioned residents to be wary of burn scars - areas cleared of trees and other structures by recent wildfires. Those conditions can turn the ground into conduits for rushing water that carries debris such as rocks and trees, as well as vehicles and buildings.

California State University at Los Angeles and UCLA canceled classes for Monday, and schools were ordered closed in the Bear Valley Unified School District in San Bernardino County as a precaution. Some businesses, including the Disneyland Resort, closed early on Sunday because of the threat from Hilary. Los Angeles Unified School District, a district that serves 429,000 students and covers 700 square miles, announced it would be closed on Monday because of the storm.

Municipal public health officials advised people to stay off all Los Angeles County beaches until at least 9am. Thursday because of the possibility of increased bacteria after significant rainfall. Officials in San Diego and Los Angeles hurriedly opened shelters and warned the thousands of people who are homeless in those cities to seek safety indoors and away from riverbeds ahead of the storm.

The National Hurricane Center is already busy with active tropical conditions in the Atlantic. On Sunday, it posted information on newly formed Tropical Storm Emily in the Central Atlantic Ocean and Tropical Storm Franklin in the Caribbean. It was also following a tropical depression and two other tropical disturbances in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico that had chances of developing into cyclones.