Universal Studios Hollywood remains open despite concerns over Hurricane Hilary

California — The Golden State

A state known for the exciting lifestyle and fun it provides to the locals and tourists. Surrounded by theme parks, quality seafood cuisine, curated vineyards, the coast covered by shiny sand and National Parks focused on wildlife.

A majority of people in the United States would delve into visiting this beautiful state, trying to experience a portion of the luxury lifestyle that the state promises to those who remain. Clearly, an experience that struggles to be replicated in the Midwest and allows you to consume whichever pieces you wish to partake in.

One piece of this variety pie that I will be exploring is its theme parks, especially those surrounding the Los Angeles area. Universal Studios Hollywood — home to famous franchises that have originated within the last 20 years or so.

A couple to mention: the wizarding world of Harry Potter, the machinations and industrious age of Transformers, with most recently, opening the park to the Super Mario series. The latter has been highly successful after the implementation of the Mario movie, which premiered around the summertime. New and old alike, the location is filled with its memorable characters, memorable locations but still missing a Bowser!

Anyway, the main reason for this discussion is not to only reminisce on amazing franchises, but to carefully think about the coming situation this coming Sunday/Monday.

How will Los Angeles and the southern region of California be affected by the coming hurricane?

For those that have been keeping up with the news, Hurricane Hilary is currently on route to the southern region of California. As of 08/19/23, it is expected to hit landfall around Sunday evening/Monday morning, varying from a Category 2 to a Category 4.

See below for the current path that is expected

Credit: San Francisco Chronicle — information posted around 7 to 8 hours ago. The level of rain for the areas in the purple region can potentially reach 3–6 inches of rain with some estimates reaching around 10 inches.

Breaking away from California’s current situation, the most recent hurricane that the state experienced was back in September 25th, 1939, where the end result of the storm was the following:

1. Wind speeds between 39 mph to 73 mph
2. Based on information from the New York Times, reached approximately 5.41 inches of rain
3. Boats and resorts were flooded, causing marine vessels to capsize, damage to the first floor of building, causing infrastructure damage
4. Limited resources and delayed response times from emergency services, resulting in 100 deaths

Based on information provided, let’s compare that to the current hurricane.

1. A category 2 to category 4 hurricane can reach speeds between 96 to 110 mph and 130 to 156 mph, respectively
2. The expected rain to be received is ranging from 3–6 inches with some estimates reaching up to 10 inches

It would be difficult and highly unreasonable to speculate on what the potential harm will result from this natural disaster.

For those not familiar with where I reside, I live in the state of Louisiana. I moved here around the age of 10–11 and since then, have experienced approximately 6 hurricanes through my lifetime.

From personal experience, these hurricanes tend to be highly unpredictable, given that some factors cannot be accounted for. Infrastructure, roads, buildings, houses, stores, public services etc. vary from state to state, city to city.

The damage observed is truly remarkable, witnessing how some places will need serious repairs to open back up or close indefinitely.

Based on sources from Tiktoker IvanGty, an internal source at Universal Studios Hollywood and various news media, the theme park will remain open as it continues to monitor the storm. The hope is that they effectively make changes early on to ensure its employees can safely make it home, along with enough prep time to fortify their house for any unexpected damages.

Given California’s lack of experience with this type of natural disaster, and potentially the infrastructure not matching up to par with the Hurricane, the worry is that these damages will be difficult to recover from.

The hope is that Universal Studios Hollywood decides to close down early, not for its own sake, but for the sake of its employees.

Be safe California and I wish you the most hope from someone who has gone through it 6 times.