Tropical Storm Hilary leaves 1 dead in Mexico as it barrels toward California, prompting panic shopping

One person in Mexico drowned as Tropical Storm Hilary barreled toward the Baja California peninsula Sunday amid warnings of “life-threatening” floods — prompting Californians to pack up batteries, water bottles and other essentials that left stores barren.

Hilary — weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm — still packed winds of 85 mph while swirling north toward San Diego early Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said.

One man drowned Saturday in the Mexican town of Santa Rosalia when a car carrying a family of five was swept away by an overwhelming stream of water, local officials said.

Hilary, the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, was expected to cause dangerous flooding, mudslides, isolated tornadoes, powerful winds and power outages when it hits California Sunday afternoon.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency, and officials urged people to avoid leaving storm preparations for the last minute Sunday.

Ahead of the storm, some frenzied Californians were seen razing store shelves of necessities like batteries, bottled water and flashlights.

Most items capable of offering light amid a power outage — including candles, flashlights, batteries and lanterns — were sold out at most Los Angeles-based retailers by Saturday afternoon, the Los Angeles Times reported.

While stores were picked clean Saturday night, gas stations became inundated. At one Arco station in Echo Park, cars waiting to fill up at the station’s 12 pumps were lined up all the way into the street

“Three inches in one day is a lot,” said Emma Rodriguez, 26, as she filled her tank and stocked up on snacks at the gas station.

“Hopefully it isn’t that bad and we can just eat snacks and watch Netflix,” Rodriguez told the outlet.

Meteorologists warned that despite weakening, the storm remained treacherous. Officials with the National Hurricane Center expect between 3 and 6 inches of rainfall, with isolated amounts of 10 inches, across the northern Baja California peninsula and portions of southern California and southern Nevada.

Hilary already dumped heavy rain in Mexico and the southwestern US on Saturday, ahead of the storm’s expected Sunday border crossing.

Forecasters have warned that Hilary could bring up to 10 inches — or a year’s worth of rain for some areas — in southern California and southern Nevada.

“This does not lessen the threat, especially the flood threat,” Jamie Rhome, the US National Hurricane Center’s deputy director, said Saturday while announcing the storm’s downgraded status. “Don’t let the weakening trend and the intensity lower your guard.”

Mexico’s navy evacuated 850 people from islands off the Baja coast and deployed almost 3,000 troops for emergency operations. Most beaches along the Baja California Sur and into San Diego and Orange counties have been closed.

Meanwhile, authorities in Los Angeles have been scrambling to get homeless people off the streets and into shelters ahead of the storm’s impact.

Additionally, Disneyland Resort announced it was shuttering its Anaheim park Sunday “for the safety of guests and cast members,” according to an announcement.

The Writer’s Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, the actors union, have also cancelled scheduled pickets Monday due to the storm.

With Post wires