Like many other people who live in southern California, I got to experience Hurricane Hilary on August 20th. I’ve lived in California my whole life and there has never been a hurricane in my lifetime. In fact, the last hurricane I can find that hit California was in 1939. None of us knew exactly what to expect.
I didn’t hear of Hurricane Hilary until a few days before it hit. Then, suddenly everyone was talking about it. We were warned that we might have to evacuate, and to brace ourselves for the oncoming storm. My mom had us move the patio furniture, flower pots, and tomato cages from outside the house inside, so that the winds wouldn’t blow it through windows.
The night before the storm, my brother and I saw clouds rolling in with lightning strikes every minute of so. We never heard the thunder, though. Everyone was tense in the morning on Sunday, August 20th. There wasn’t any rain early that morning, so my brother went to work. A few hours after he left, the rain started. At first, it started off light. It would rain lightly for a while, stop, and then start again.
As we entered into the afternoon, the rain suddenly became fierce. I looked outside and saw some of the heaviest rain I’d ever seen. A little before 2:00pm, my phone started to blare out a warning, saying that we were experiencing flash floods and that all residents should stay were they are. Roads started to close. I couldn’t make it in to work that day. I later found out that the store I work in closed early that day, so all the employees could go home.
A few hours later, my brother got off work and started the half-an-hour drive between his job and home. My mom was worried for him on his entire way back. When he finally do get home, he was wet and relieved to be home. He had to drive through quite a few inches of water and he said that it felt more like his car was swimming, rather than driving. My mom gave him a big hug after that.
By the next morning, the rain was gone, but the mud and puddles remained. Everything has dried out now, but I’ll never forget the terror I felt when I saw the power and devastation of Mother Nature.