Tropical Storm Lala Batters Hawaii With Rain and Wind
Hurricane Lala weakened to a tropical storm Sunday after skirting Hawaii’s Big Island without making landfall, but the storm continued to punish the island chain with drenching rain and destructive winds. More than 130,000 households were without power Sunday morning across Hawaii’s three largest islands, according to the utility tracker poweroutage.us, and at least three hospitals were operating on generator power, Gov. Josh Green said.
As of 2 a.m. Sunday in Hawaii, Lala was centered about 105 miles west-northwest of Kailua-Kona and about 100 miles south of Honolulu, with tropical-storm-force winds extending as much as 175 miles from its center, according to AP News. The storm was sustaining top winds of 70 mph and moving northwest at about 15 mph.
A Rare Landfall Threat Fades
The possibility that the Big Island could witness its first direct hit from a hurricane in 155 years faded as the eye of the storm passed the island’s southern tip, AP News reported. Lala intensified from a tropical storm into a Category 1 hurricane early Saturday with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, but weakened overnight as it moved past the island.
Still, the storm’s impact was severe. Total rainfall of nearly three feet was expected on the higher windward slopes of the Big Island, with some higher-altitude places potentially seeing as much as 35 inches of rain, forecasters said. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for the Kau District of Hawaii Island, calling it “a particularly dangerous situation,” with rain falling at an extreme rate of 3 to 5 inches per hour, Hawaii News Now reported.
Search and Rescue After Homes Swept Away
A search-and-rescue mission including Civil Defense, the National Guard and Coast Guard was launched after flash floods swept several occupied homes off their foundations in the coastal communities of Na’alehu and Wai’ohinu, near the island’s southern tip, Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda said early Sunday. Two homes were reportedly swept away in Naalehu.
“What makes this very challenging is that there’s rushing water, there’s debris, and there’s boulders on the road and it’s dark,” Alameda said. National Guard high water vehicles were deployed to access individuals who had called 911 in flooded neighborhoods, and a Coast Guard helicopter assisted the operations, Hawaii Public Radio reported.
At least one person died in a car accident in the South Point area of the Big Island, while 19 roofs were lost in what Gov. Green called an “enormous storm.” The governor urged residents to stay off the roads, saying crews had already been dispatched to more than 30 road sites. Multiple major roads experienced closures, including Highways 250, 19 and 11.
Widespread Power Outages and Disruption
Hawaiian Electric reported over 88,000 customers had lost power as of 8 p.m. Saturday, with the number growing to more than 130,000 by Sunday morning. The utility, which had 500 workers on standby, brought in additional contractors and stocked equipment ahead of the storm. Restoration work was halted for safety in some areas due to dangerous road conditions, Hawaii News Now reported.
The Hawaii Department of Water Supply told customers island-wide to restrict water usage to essential needs like drinking, cooking, and bathing due to power outages affecting water systems. The Coast Guard closed commercial ports across the state except for Honolulu.
Both of the Big Island’s airports were shut down by Saturday afternoon, and 190 flights were postponed. Tropical storm warnings were in effect for the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau as the storm moved west.
Historic Context and Community Preparedness
The Big Island was last hit directly by a hurricane in 1871, when a Category 3 hurricane struck the northeast corner, according to research by a University of Hawaii atmospheric scientist. A hurricane last made landfall on the islands in 1992, when Hurricane Iniki, a Category 4 storm, lashed Kauai, causing $3 billion in damage and killing six people.
“It did $3 billion worth of damage. It destroyed thousands of homes, and it did kill six people,” Green said. “We just can never know if a storm is going to turn.”
Gov. Green issued an emergency proclamation Friday, enabling the state to respond more quickly to potential impacts, Civil Beat reported. Shelters were opened across all nine districts of Hawaii County, as well as on Oahu and Maui. Many residents were still dealing with the aftermath of devastating floods from March’s Kona lows, which hit the south side of the island unexpectedly hard and informed a more vigilant approach to storm preparation.
Residents like Bobby Camara, a 75-year-old lifelong Big Island resident, prepared for the worst. “I think stocking up is part of life over here. … You learn to be self-reliant,” he said.
What’s Next
Forecasters expect Lala to regain hurricane strength midweek once it’s well west of the island chain. Tropical storm conditions were spreading westward Sunday from Maui to Oahu and then Kauai, with flash flood warnings in effect for Oahu. The National Hurricane Center warned that wind speeds atop mountains and on windward and leeward slopes are often up to 30% stronger than near-surface winds used to categorize storms.
As the storm moves on, the focus shifts to recovery: damage assessments, power restoration, and continued search-and-rescue efforts in the hardest-hit communities. “It doesn’t take landfall to create destruction,” said Vanessa Almanza, a National Weather Service meteorologist. “A lot of the impacts are felt outside of the hurricane.”