The passage of tropical storm Hilary, which made landfall twice in Mexico on Sunday, once as a category 1 hurricane, has so far left four dead: two in the border city of Tijuana, Baja California state, one in Baja California Sur and another in Sinaloa, authorities notified this Monday.

The first victim died last Friday in Navolato, in the northern state of Sinaloa, after his truck was swept away by floodwaters caused by rain. His body was located several kilometers away.

In Mulegé, in the northern state of Baja California Sur, on Sunday a current of water dragged a vehicle into the sea in which a family was traveling, one of whose five members died.

Washed away by the rain

On the other hand, Hilary’s passage through the border city of Tijuana, in Baja California, has so far left two people dead as a result of the constant rains that occurred throughout Sunday and early Monday morning.

Municipal authorities reported this in different communiqués, detailing that one of the deceased was a young woman in a traffic accident that occurred on Sunday afternoon in the rain, leaving her trapped in her car.

The other person was a man who went out to fish in the sea and due to the weather conditions, the current dragged him inland, losing his life, his body was found on Saturday morning on the coast of Playas de Tijuana.

Split storm

Rafael Carrillo Venegas, director of the Tijuana Fire Department, said that, despite these damages, the severity of the passage of the tropical storm was not as serious as expected, because “fortunately it fractured and divided into two parts and we were left like in the middle of this storm.”

He explained that this happened mainly because the high area of the mountains helps to dissipate the winds that come from the Pacific, in addition to the fact that the temperatures that occur in this northern region prevent these gusts of wind from increasing.

The president, Joe Biden, has declared that he remains “abreast” of the storm and that his Administration has provided “immediate help” to the state of California to face the emergency.

Among the measures announced is the deployment of personnel and the shipment of supplies to the communities that are affected.