Hurricane Lala skirted Hawaii’s Big Island on Saturday without making landfall and was expected to gradually weaken after lashing the region with strong winds and drenching rain that flooded roads and turned rivers into raging torrents.
Hawaii governor Josh Green said at least one person died in a car accident in the South Point area of the Big Island. About ۶۰,۰۰۰ households were temporarily left without power while ۱۹ roofs were lost and ۱۹۰ flights were postponed.
“You definitely want to be home, do not be out on the roads,” he said.
The possibility the island could witness its first direct hit from a hurricane in ۱۵۵ years faded as the eye of the storm passed the island’s southern tip. Landfall was not expected at this point, said National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Joseph Clark.
However, hurricane-force winds were expected to continue into the overnight hours, with the strongest wind gusts likely in areas of higher terrain, the National Hurricane Center said. Heavy rainfall into Sunday could produce flooding and mudslides, while powerful waves pound the coast, the agency said.
Tropical storm warnings remained in effect for the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau as the storm moved west. The Big Island is the state’s largest, with a population of about ۲۱۰,۰۰۰.
Whitecap surf slammed ashore nonstop, howling winds whipped the tops of palm trees and waterways swelled with fast-moving runoff from relentless rain that blew nearly sideways.
Forecasters said higher elevations on the island, dominated by the towering Mauna Kea volcano, could get as much as ۲۵ in (۶۳.۵cm ) of rain. That could cause life-threatening mudslides in a mountainous area where people live off the grid in improvised housing.
Earlier the governor called it an “enormous storm”, capable of destructive flooding and even the possibility of wildfires kicked up by strong winds across the island chain.
Residents heeded the warning.
Bobby Camara, a ۷۵-year-old lifelong resident, said he planned to “hunker down, cross my fingers, [and] hope the lights don’t go out” at a care home just outside Hilo. He said gas stations were busy as people sought fuel for chain saws and vehicles.
“I think stocking up is part of life over here,” Camara said. “You learn to be self-reliant.”
Mike Caputo, who lives in Keaau, near the Big Island’s east coast, said his power generator was ready and a ۱۰,۰۰۰-gallon (۳۷.۸ kiloliter) home water tank was full. He said the main concern was flash flooding and fallen trees, especially albizia, a common tree.
“They’re not very sturdy, but they grow extremely large,” said Caputo, ۵۰, a local fire captain. “They can make roads impassable.”
Lala intensified from a tropical storm into a hurricane early Saturday as its maximum sustained winds increased to ۷۵ mph (۱۲۰ kph), the hurricane center reported, making it a category ۱ hurricane.
A hurricane last made landfall on the islands in ۱۹۹۲, when Hurricane Iniki – a category ۴ storm – lashed Kauai.
The Big Island was last hit directly in ۱۸۷۱, when a category ۳ hurricane hit the north-east corner, according to research by a University of Hawaii atmospheric scientist.
On Saturday, shelters were opened, events were canceled and ranchers were urged to leave their cattle in pastures, rather than structures that might collapse.
The hurricane center predicted ۸ to ۱۲in (۲۰.۳ to ۳۰.۵cm) of total rainfall across Maui and the lower elevations of the Big Island, and ۴ to ۶in (۱۰.۲ to ۱۵.۲cm) across the island chain.
Lala approached Hawaii as many of its residents were still dealing with the aftermath of devastating floods in March.
