Palm Springs completely cut off from rest of state by Tropical Storm Hilary flooding

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August 21, 2023 View online 1/ Palm Springs completely cut off from rest of state by Tropical Storm Hilary flooding Tropical Storm Hilary drenched Palm Springs with over half of a year's worth of rain in mere hours—and cut off the city's emergency services. California officials declared a local state of emergency due to "unprecedented rainfall and flooding of local roadways and at least one swift water rescue." City officials also urged residents to stay home and to "avoid driving during these dangerous conditions." Dozens of cars are trapped in floodwaters across the city as well as in surrounding communities, according to ABC7.   "There's no way in or out of Palm Springs and that's the case for the majority of the Coachella valley. We're all stuck. Our major freeway, I-10, is also closed in both directions. This is a very extreme situation at the moment," said Palm Springs Mayor Grace Garner on Monday. California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Sunday that the state had experienced "the most significant rainfall over a 60-minute period any time in the history of Palm Springs."   As California began bracing for the worst of the storm on Sunday afternoon, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake also struck Ventura County. 2/ Daughters describe store owner slain over Pride flag as 'fearless' Laura 'Lauri' Carleton's daughters said they would continue to advocate for 'love, equality and acceptance' 3/ Trump co-defendant John Eastman gets $100,000 bail in Georgia election case Mr Eastman will remain free while he awaits trial alongside former president Donald Trump and their other co-defendants 4/ Hawaii wildfires death toll rises to 114 as governor pledges to rebuild fire-ravaged Maui President Joe Biden was heading to Maui with first lady Jill Biden on Monday 5/ British killer nurse Lucy Letby sentenced for murdering babies Letby will die in prison after her conviction for murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more THE BIG QUESTION What do we know about the death of shopkeeper and 'true LGBTQ ally' Laura Carleton? When people first ripped down the Pride flag hanging outside her Cedar Glen clothing store, Laura Ann Carleton simply got another and hung it straight back up. Friends say this happened multiple times in the two years since she opened the California store as a second outpost to her first location in Studio City. And, throughout it all, the 66-year-old mother-of-nine remained defiant as a prominent ally to the LGBT+ community. This weekend, it happened once again. Except this time, the flag removal  ended with her murder – with the perpetrator shooting her in cold blood in the street. Read the full story here Enjoy a year of unlimited digital access for just £99 £20 ✓ Full access to Premium news analysis ✓ Advert-free reading across web and app ✓ The Independent Daily Edition newspaper ✓ Puzzles, virtual event tickets and more SUBSCRIBE NOW Watch / Wildfire smoke chokes Canada skies as air quality warnings issued NUMBER OF THE DAY 6 weeks – The number of weeks before a missing persons report was filed for musician Camela Leierth-Segura, according to police. Read more QUOTE OF THE DAY "We're all stuck... This is a very extreme situation at the moment." – Palm Springs Mayor Grace Garner said  there was no way out of the city as Tropical Storm Hilary brought over half of a year's worth of rain in mere hours—and cut off the city's emergency services. 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