HONOLULU - Hurricane Lane churned closer toward the heart of the Hawaiian islands on Friday as it weakened into a Category 2 storm while still lashing the Big Island with raging surf, torrential rains, and catastrophic flooding, weather officials said.
The storm, with sustained winds topping 100 miles (161 km) per hour, was forecast to make its nearest approach to land just west of the island chain over the weekend, bringing hurricane conditions to Maui and the U.S. state's most populous island, Oahu, starting Friday night.
Farther north, a tropical storm watch was posted for the island of Kauai.
"If you're in Hawaii, it's critical that you heed the warnings of local officials and stay aware of your surroundings," Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) chief Brock Long wrote on Twitter.
By Friday morning, more than 2 feet (60 cm) of rain had fallen in a 36-hour period on the Big Island's windward side, where the National Weather Service reported "catastrophic flooding" and wind gusts peaking at 67 mph (108 kph).
A number of structures on the island of Hawaii, popularly known as the Big Island, were destroyed and some residents were reported to be fleeing their homes, said Melissa Dye, a Weather Service spokeswoman in Honolulu.
Fire department personnel have conducted several rescues of people stranded by high water on the Big Island since Thursday, mostly around its biggest city, Hilo, said Kelly Wooten, a Hawaii County civil defense spokeswoman.
Overnight, the National Guard and fire department rescued 6 people and their dog, and 2 hikers were rescued by helicopter near the camping destination of Waimanu Valley, Wooten said. There were no injuries.
She said 2 Hilo-area neighborhoods were evacuated.
'READY TO LEAVE'
Flash flooding and mudslides on the Big Island have forced a number of road closures, and Governor David Ige urged residents to avoid any unnecessary travel.
On Oahu, where 70 percent of Hawaii's 1.4 million residents live, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell told the Weather Channel that the city has moved its emergency-response equipment to higher ground for the time being.
He said Honolulu, the state's capital and largest city, is especially vulnerable to floods and landslides because it is partly ringed by mountains.
"We have asked our residents in these areas where they know it floods to be ready to leave," Caldwell said, adding that 1,100 people were staying in emergency shelters throughout the city.
Evacuations were also under way on parts of Molokai and Maui islands.
In Maui, a fast-growing wildfire forced the evacuation of homes and an emergency shelter set up for the storm in Lahaina, where no rain was yet falling, officials said. One woman was hospitalized with burns. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known.
Besides upheaval for hundreds of thousands of residents living in low-lying flood-prone areas, the storm has spoiled vacation plans throughout the islands.
Australian tourist Nicole Paterson, 27, said she was forced to cancel a birthday outing to snorkel with sea turtles along Oahu's North Shore on Friday, and a visit to the Disney resort in Ko Olina.
While Lane was downgraded on Friday to Category 2 on the 5-step Saffir-Simpson scale, it still packed maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (170 kph), the weather service said.
As of 11 a.m. Hawaii time (5 p.m. EDT/2100 GMT), Lane was moving north at 5 mph (8 kph) and was about 150 miles (245 km) south of Honolulu, the weather service said. It was forecast to turn west on Saturday, lose more of its punch and move more quickly.
The latest predictions from the weather service's Central Pacific Hurricane Center show the eye of the storm glancing past Maui and several other islands on Friday on its way toward Oahu.
In addition to "life-threatening and damaging surf," the weather service has warned that storm surges could raise water levels 3 to 5 feet (1 to 1.5 meters) above normal along the western shores of the Big Island.
Governor Ige has urged residents to set aside a 14-day supply of water, food, and medicine. All public schools, University of Hawaii campuses and nonessential government offices on the islands of Oahu and Kauai were closed at least through Friday.
All harbors have been ordered closed to incoming vessels, and the U.S. Navy moved most of its fleet out of Pearl Harbor, where ships could provide aid after the storm.
Oil company Par Pacific Holdings Inc said it had shut down its 93,500 barrel-per-day refinery in Kapolei. - with additional reporting by Diane Craft in Kailua, Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee, Makini Brice in Washington, Alex Dobzinskis in Los Angeles and Gabriella Borter in New York
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Torrential rains pummeled Hawaii on Friday as Hurricane Lane swirled toward the island state, triggering landslides, "catastrophic" flooding and prompting stark warnings from authorities.
In its 1200 GMT bulletin, the Honolulu-based branch of the National Weather Service said the now Category Three hurricane was packing winds in excess of 120 miles per hour (195 kilometers per hour).
Currently located some 200 miles south of the state capital Honolulu, Hurricane Lane's center was forecast to track over or "dangerously close" to parts of the main Hawaiian islands later Friday and into the night.
Brock Long, administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), warned of major disruptions to the power grid.
"Citizens need to realize that we are looking at major hurricane impacts and things are going to break," Long said.
"We need to set the expectation that the power could go off for quite some time and the infrastructure is going to be heavily impacted."
The archipelago's Big Island has already been deluged with "catastrophic flooding," the NWS said.
Over two feet of rain have fallen at several locations on the windward side of the Big Island, the National Hurricane Center said, with 30 to 40 inches possible over some areas throughout the state.
Emergency teams have set up 16 evacuation centers, with a further 19 due to open later as President Donald Trump, who has declared a state of emergency, urged Hawaiians to hunker down and prepare for the worst.
"Our teams are closely coordinating with the state and local authorities. You are in our thoughts!" Trump tweeted.
Some 1,500 residents have already sought shelter in temporary evacuation centers, mainly in and around Honolulu, said Brad Kieserman, vice president of Disaster Services Operations and Logistics for the American Red Cross.
"I definitely expect to see an increase in population as the storm continues to approach," he added.
- 'Panic mode' -
Residents across the state stocked up on water, food, gasoline and emergency supplies as Lane drew nearer.
"Last couple of days it's been like this -- it's been busy," said Chris, an employee at a gas station in Haleiwa, on the north shore of Oahu island -- the location of the capital Honolulu.
"We have been just constantly getting cars filling up. Everybody is in a panic mode right now -- everyone is filling up gas, gas cans, propane cans and all that."
Sea levels were expected to rise as much as two to four feet above normal tide levels, causing coastal erosion and prompting a storm surge and "large and destructive waves," forecasters said.
Surfers could be seen taking advantage of the calm before the storm to get out on their boards one last time before the ocean got too violent.
- Flights canceled -
United Airlines said it canceled all Friday flights to and from Kahului airport on Maui, the second-largest island.
The US Coast Guard said 57,000 US military personnel already stationed in Hawaii were ready to provide logistical and medical support or conduct search and rescue missions operations.
"Hurricane Lane is not a well-behaved hurricane," Governor David Ige said in a statement as he declared a state of emergency Tuesday on the Big Island.
"I've not seen such dramatic changes in the forecast track as I've seen with this storm."
Hurricanes rarely make landfall in Hawaii and the last major storm to strike the state was nearly three decades ago, when Hurricane Iniki barreled into the island of Kauai, leaving six dead and causing billions of dollars in damage.
Federal officials have been working with Hawaiian utility managers to keep a close eye on the power grid, a major vulnerability in Puerto Rico last year when it was hit by Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm.
Hurricane-related deaths in Puerto Rico have been estimated at as many as 4,600 people, largely because prolonged and widespread power outages and washed out roads prevented access to health care, US researchers said.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
HONOLULU - Hurricane Lane, threatening a direct hit as Hawaii's worst storm in a quarter century, on Thursday churned toward Oahu, the island with the largest population, as schools, government offices and business closed and residents stocked up on supplies and boarded up homes.
Packing sustained winds of up to 130 miles per hour (215 km per hour), Lane could dump as much as 20 inches of rain, triggering flash floods and landslides, the National Weather Service said.
"Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion," the National Weather Service's Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu said in its latest advisory.
As of early Thursday, Lane was centered about 230 miles (370 km) south-southwest of Kailua-Kona, a town on the west coast of the Big Island, the NWS said. It was classified as a powerful Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane strength.
The NWS said the storm weakened slightly overnight but excessive rainfall would affect the Hawaiian islands into the weekend, "leading to significant and life-threatening flash flooding and landslides."
The center also warned of "very large and damaging surf" along exposed west- and south-facing shorelines.
A hurricane warning was in effect for Oahu, Maui County and Hawaii County. The islands of Kauai and Niihau remained on hurricane watch and could face similar conditions starting Friday morning.
Governor David Ige urged residents to take the threat seriously and prepare for the worst by setting aside a 14-day supply of water, food and medicines.
All public schools, University of Hawaii campuses and nonessential government offices on the islands of Oahu and Kauai will be closed for at least two days starting on Thursday, Ige said Wednesday.
The shelves of a downtown Honolulu Walmart were stripped of items ranging from canned tuna to dog food as well as bottled water and coolers full of ice after warnings of possible power outages.
"I went to Safeway last night for regular groceries. Everyone was in a panic," said Thao Nguyen, 35, an employee at a Honolulu branch of Hawaiian shirt retailer Roberta Oaks.
Long lines of cars formed at gasoline stations in Honolulu and people pulled small boats from the water ahead of the expected storm surge. U.S. Navy ships and submarines based in Hawaii were instructed to leave port, a common practice when a hurricane approaches to avoid damage.
President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency for Hawaii and ordered federal authorities to help supplement state and local responses, the White House said on Thursday.
The most powerful hurricane on record to hit Hawaii was Category 4 Iniki, which made landfall on Kauai island on Sept. 11, 1992, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It killed six people and damaged or destroyed more than 14,000 homes.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
