Long Beach residents prepare, fill sandbags as Hurricane Hilary approaches Southern California

Coastal communities in Southern California are bracing for potential flooding from Hurricane Hilary, which is expected to make landfall as a tropical storm this weekend. Long Beach residents were seen waiting in long lines to fill sandbags to protect their homes on Saturday afternoon.

Hilary, which is churning off the Pacific coast of Mexico, is expected to reach California on Sunday as a tropical storm with heavy rain and large ocean swells.

“Rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches, with isolated amounts of 10 inches, are expected across portions of southern California and southern Nevada, which would lead to significant and rare impacts,” the National Weather Service said. “Elsewhere across portions of the Western United States, rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches are expected.”