The thought of a long weekend right as school begins sounds like the perfect day to get that last bite of summer. However, Tropical Storm Hilary did not affect us in the way we truly expected it to. LAUSD, which is one of the biggest school districts in the country, closed its doors to students due to the threat of the storm. Even CSUF and Anaheim Union closed for that Monday. Yet at 8:30 that Monday morning, the students of LMHS were in their classes, pen and paper in hand.
Everyone seemed divided by those panicking like it was the end of it all and those who could not care less. From bulk buying at Costco to just staying in and enjoying the rainy weather, La Mirada was not the victim of this Tropical Storm.
Those living in Palm Springs, Indio, and Baja California, Mexico were affected more than us on a large scale.
Palm Springs is a desert town that sees an average of about 4.85 inches of rain a year. Within just one day, Hilary poured down 3.18 inches of rain causing immense flooding and damage. Indio is a town that seems irrelevant unless you’re going to Coachella, and chances are you’re not. Hilary brought tremendous downpours of rain, causing floods and mudslides to the Coachella Valley. Try seeing Frank Ocean perform when you’re up to your knees in mud, sticks, rocks, and who knows what else.
Baja California, Mexico got the worst of Hilary, dealing with her as a Level 4 Hurricane. Intense flooding hit Mulegé and Santa Rosalia the worst. The combination of catastrophic flooding and 65 mph winds carried everything in its path with it and even took a person’s life in the process.
The truth is we didn’t deserve the day off, which is most likely the main reason we didn’t get the day off. No down power lines were damaging the school internet, there were no trees that had fallen in the quad, and everything was just as we left it the Friday before.
