As Hilary kept getting worse, people had to cancel their vacation days for the time being since even the neighbors of California were impacted by the change of weather. Cathedral City is where it impacted them the most. The Mendolia family that lived right where the disaster struck say they still need time cleaning and fixing their house as they are suffering through the consequences of the Hurricane. “I can’t live like this at this point,” Said Ellisa Mendolia. “Just think about knee-high mud in your home.” The Mendolia family, just like many others, had to get rescued by the flooding waters, the draining pipes, the moist rooms and the broken walls. They’re experience was just as shocking as everybody else’s. The house was pretty full. The mom, Arcie Mendolia, and her daughter Ellisa all lived together with a two year old and four other members. Getting woken up by screams, and loud banging isn’t just something that they could’ve just slept through. Tired, scared, confused, stressed, alert, jumping and crawling up to the roof was definitely not apart of their night routine. From below they could see all of the mud rising further up and all of their expenses being destroyed. Even calling 911 couldn’t have helped them then. “They were unaware of when they would be able to send help where we were at. You almost feel helpless seeing the firefighters flashing their lights at us and being a few feet away but having to go back because they can’t get through.” Explained Ellisa. Would’ve never expected the unknown. Especially in a desert city.
August 16, 2023
During these horrific moments, the community suffered great damage and the economy was struggling to put things back in order. In Cathedral City, many trees toppled over the roads leaving them blocked and older residents stuck since the mud was gathered by the house doors and it was too hectic and dangerous to go outside for anything. This first starting as a hurricane, then continued to become a widespread tropical storm. Hilary struck with tornado signs, a few wildfires, and a quick earthquake, but no serious injuries, even then risks still remained. Those risks sure impacted west of Las Vegas, Nevada as they experienced flooding and power outages in about 400 households near the Mount Charleston area. Las Vegas is not prepared for what happened in their city since it is not used to many flooding or high percent chances of raining.
On this day, California had a drastic change of weather. From a sunny, beautiful day to a hectic, windy, and rainy week. The roads , trees, and buildings even were very dangerous to cars passing by. Roads were blocked, trees were falling, cars were sliding and crashing, buildings were falling apart. Families and even rescuers needed rescuing. Nevada, Idaho, Arizona and even Utah were surprised when suddenly it started raining after also having some sunny days. Families scurried to get their damages repaired and their properties back in place. Some even are anxious to go back to their work place and don’t know what to do.
The workers would’ve never thought that they would go through something like this, all wrapped up into some kind of trouble where they wouldn’t get to work for a few weeks because of the Hurricane. Californians usually don’t pay attention when they hear that a hurricane might pass by, and once they do, it is always too late. Weather rises up to a level of danger zone that people have no chance but to scurry away far from their home. But even then, some enjoyed the change of weather for once. Aside from all the damage the water could be doing, they liked the experience as long as people were okay. Homero Francisco, age 37, splashed around in the water with a big smile on his face. “I’m enjoying the rain,” he said while beaming at the water. “It’s a beautiful thing, the water.” This shows us how we should always be prepared in case mother nature decides to show us up again. Bare with us, as people try to get things back to normal and their homes fixed to the way they used to be.
