Gene Autry Trail was closed at Whitewater Wash in Palm Springs on Sunday in anticipation of heavy flooding brought by tropical storm Hilary.
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Erin Stone
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LAist
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Topline:
Tropical Storm Hilary brought more than half of an entire year’s worth of rain to the Palm Springs and surrounding desert areas in a single day. Flooding was significant across the Coachella Valley. There have not been reports of deaths or serious injuries at this point.
Why it matters: Tropical Storm Hilary was the first tropical storm to land in Southern California in more than 80 years. It brought a deluge of rain, strong winds and hail at times. As the storm approached, many were skeptical of the impact, but still largely heeded the message to prepare and stay home during the peak.
What’s next: Southern California is dealing with the remnants of the storm this morning, and the full extent of the damages won’t be known until later today and coming days.
On Monday morning in Palm Springs and across the Coachella Valley, residents and visitors woke to a serene sunrise and cloudy skies, a very different picture from the weather throughout much of the night.
The storm brought more than half of an entire year’s worth of rain to the region in a single day. Flooding was significant across the valley, but there have not been reports of deaths or serious injuries at this point. Now the desert cities will have to contend with serious cleanup and damage control.
Main roads have been closed as a precaution since Saturday and some 30 miles of Interstate 10 was closed due to flooding,which made it virtually impossible to get out of or into the city of Palm Springs from the west as of now. The westbound lanes of the 10 reopened at about 12:15 p.m. Monday and the eastbound side reopened shortly before 1 p.m.
The storm brought serious impacts, including residents in a mobile home park in Mecca — in the southern part of the Coachella Valley — being evacuated due to flooding. Some of the most severe flooding has been in that area. Other big impacts included a sinkhole opening up on an Indian Wells street and a Rancho Mirage hospital needing floodwaters pumped out of its lower floors. Arcing power lines set off some small fires in Palm Springs, but the local fire department was able to put them out.
911 call line failure
There were intermittent power outages for some residents, and in the middle of the night, the 911 call line went down across the Coachella Valley. There’s still no estimate on when it may be back online. Riverside County sent an alert to residents with alternative numbers to call for their area, but it’s unclear if visitors also received that alert.
911 in the Coachella Valley is down and officials say they don’t have an estimate of when it will be available. You’re encouraged instead to text 911, and these are the alternative numbers to call in the case of an emergency:
Palm Springs -- (760) 327-1441
Desert Hot Springs – (760) 329-2904
Cathedral City – (760) 770-0303
Riverside Sheriff’s Office – (760) 836-3220
Sunrise on Monday after the worst of Tropical Storm Hilary had passed was a serene sight over the Coachella Valley.
(
Erin Stone
/
LAist
)
Shane Reichardt, Riverside County Emergency Management Department’s public information officer said so far the impacts they’ve seen and responded to have been relatively minor and expected, such as some water getting into homes. They’ve also conducted some swift water rescues, primarily of people who got stuck in their vehicles in flooded streets, he said.
“Generally speaking, we've seen impacts like these before, so it's hard to say that the tropical storm delivered more of a punch than we've seen with some other storms,” Reichardt said. “Certainly we're seeing damage, so it's not an insignificant storm by any measure.”
He said the true extent of the damage won’t be known until later today and in the coming days.
Unhoused folks I spoke with weren’t sure where to go for shelter — for example, there’s only one overnight shelter here in the city of Palm Springs and it only has 20 beds. Many businesses closed early on Sunday or didn’t open at all. Overall, it does seem most people heeded the message to prepare and stay home.
Reichardt said the tropical storm along with the coincidental impact of an earthquake up in Ojai in Ventura County is yet another reason to always be prepared for a disaster year-round here in Southern California. And, of course, human-caused climate change is only making our wild weather here more extreme.
“We have a very diverse state and we can have a lot of different things that happen from fires to floods, to earthquakes,” Reichardt said. “By residents having a preparedness mindset, their go bag looks the same for earthquakes as it does for fires, for floods. We want people to learn lessons from each event and make sure that they are prepared for themselves, their families, their specific situation.”
