New York, Aug 16. (dpa/GNA) – Hurricane Lala has brought destructive winds and heavy rainfall to Hawaii’s largest island, Big Island, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported.
By Saturday evening local time, more than 63,000 electricity customers on the island were without power, or just under 100,000 including neighbouring islands Maui and Oahu, according to data from the US website Poweroutage.us.
Local media reported downed trees, road closures and severe flooding on the island, which has around 200,000 inhabitants. The situation became particularly dramatic late on Saturday evening, as the National Weather Service (NWS) declared a flash flood emergency for some southern parts of Big Island.
Police said several houses had been swept away by floodwaters, while the weather service warned of a life-threatening and “catastrophic” flood situation.
The centre of the Category 1 hurricane passed around 90 kilometres south of the island, heading westward, the NHC reported.
Hurricane-force wind gusts and heavy rainfall were expected on Big Island into the night. The NHC said it expected a total of 30 to 50 centimetres of rain on the windward sides of Big Island over the course of the storm. However, some measuring stations had already exceeded those amounts.
Nearly 65 centimetres were recorded in Laupahoehoe within 36 hours. A risk of flooding, landslides and dangerous surf remained, the NHC said, urging residents to stay in safe shelters.
Dangerously strong winds and heavy rainfall also threatened the state’s smaller islands including Maui, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau through Sunday, despite their greater distance from the storm’s centre.
The focus of the impact was expected to shift westward overnight. A flood warning remained in place for Oahu, Kauai and Niihau until late Sunday, with up to 20 centimetres of rain forecast in places.
A Category 1 hurricane, on a scale of 1 to 5, can bring sustained winds of up to 153 kilometres per hour. According to the NHC forecast, Lala is expected to turn further westward on Sunday and pick up speed, before gradually weakening.
GNA