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Skies over Ensenada in Baja California, Mexico
Photo: Alejandro Zepeda / EPA
Shortly before the arrival of tropical storm Hilary, the US state of California was shaken by an earthquake of magnitude 5.1. The epicenter of the quake on Sunday afternoon (local time) was, according to the U.S. earthquake observatory USGS near the small town of Ojai, a good 100 kilometers northwest of Los Angeles. Initially, the earthquake station did not expect any major damage, and there was no tsunami warning.
SPIEGEL contributor Philipp Wittrock, who lives in the affected region, reported a very short but powerful tremor lasting a few seconds. In the minutes that followed, several, lighter aftershocks were felt. According to media reports, the quake was also felt in Los Angeles.
In the meantime, the Pacific tropical storm "Hilary" has reached the USA. The center of the storm moved to Southern California late Sunday afternoon (local time), according to the National Hurricane Center.
Two killed by storm in Mexico
Previously, "Hilary" had made landfall in Mexico and reached the coast of Baja California. According to media reports, there have already been two fatalities there. A man was killed as a result of flooding along the Pacific coast of northwestern Mexico, as the newspaper "El Universal" reported. According to the report, a van was swept away in the municipality of Navolato in the state of Sinaloa. The driver was found dead a few kilometers away. In the city of Mulegé in Baja California, according to information from the newspaper »Milenio«, another person was killed while trying to cross a river.
The storm had weakened over the course of Sunday and had been downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm. In the southwestern United States, »Hilary« brought heavy rain throughout the weekend.
Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for large parts of southern California. The U.S. Weather Service had warned of "life-threatening and catastrophic flooding" in the southwestern United States.
jok/dpa