Tropical Storm Hilary hit the US state of California on Sunday night, bringing fierce winds and flooding to the Pacific coast.
Now headed North to Nevada, the storm passed over Southern California, with record rainfall and flash flooding predicted in the Death Valley National Park.
It moved across the border from Mexico, where the Baja California peninsula saw winds of 70 mph (119km/h).
In Mexico, a man died in a flash flood, A number of houses are now submerged in the town of Santa Rosalia, Mexico, while some residents in California have been forced to evacuate.
Schools have also had to close for Monday, including Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest in the country.
The last time a tropical storm made landfall in Southern California was in Long Beach in 1939.
Hilary is set to weaken as it moves north, but forecasters warn it could still bring dangerous and catastrophic flooding to the state.
“Areas that normally do not experience flash flooding will flood,” the National Weather Service said. “Lives and property are in great danger through Monday.”
Experts say recent abnormal weather events that have plagued the US and several areas across the globe have been influenced by human-caused climate change.
The storm made landfall in the northern part of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula at 11:00 local time (18:00 GMT) on Sunday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.
In Mexico, 18,000 soldiers were placed on standby earlier to assist in rescue efforts.
BBC/Adebukola Aluko
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