Tropical Storm Moke Brings More Rain to Hawaii
Tropical Storm Moke was swirling past Hawaii on Sunday, close enough to dump heavy rain on Big Island communities still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Lala. The National Hurricane Center located Moke’s center about 310 miles south of Hilo Sunday morning, with top sustained winds around 45 mph, according to AP News.
Forecasters expected Moke to produce as much as 10 inches of total rain across the Big Island, and up to 15 inches in some isolated places — enough to cause life-threatening flooding and mudslides for the windward and southeast slopes, especially in steep terrain and over areas already affected by Lala. Eastern Maui could see up to 6 inches, while other islands may get an inch or two.
A State Still Reeling from Lala
The arrival of Moke comes just one week after Hurricane Lala raked the Hawaiian islands without making landfall, sweeping around 100 homes off their foundations on the Big Island and leaving two people dead. Lala dumped roughly 20 to 40 inches of rain in some areas, triggering flooding, runoff and landslides that destroyed roads and bridges. The northeast coast of the Big Island saw the heaviest total rainfall from Lala at 43.54 inches, according to the weather service.
More than 6,700 customers, most of them on the Big Island, remained without electricity on Sunday, according to poweroutage.us. At the height of Lala, approximately 200,000 customers across Hawaii Island, Maui and Oahu lost power. Hawaiian Electric reported that full restoration in the hardest-hit areas may not be complete until Sept. 8, as reported by NPR.
Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda estimated property damage from Lala is already approaching $50 million, with at least 100 homes damaged in the Kaʻū area alone, according to Hawaii News Now. The Punalu’u Bake Shop in Naalehu, a tourist hotspot and major local employer, was severely damaged, with its manager describing the destruction as “literally catastrophic.”
Preparing for Another Round
There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect for Moke, but people were urged to closely monitor the storm’s progress. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and other state officials held a news conference ahead of Moke, urging people to prepare by restocking food, medicine and other essentials.
“Our County crews remain ready to respond, and we ask our residents to remain vigilant and be prepared for heavy rainfall and gusty winds as Tropical Storm Moke passes us to the south,” Mayor Alameda said.
Hawaii County opened shelters at 8 p.m. Saturday, including Naalehu Elementary School gym and Robert N. Herkes Gym in Pahala. Several Hele-On bus routes were canceled Sunday, and access to Pahala and Waiohinu/Naalehu via Highway 11 remained limited to local and disaster response traffic, as Hawaii News Now reported.
A Flood Watch was in effect for Hawaii Island from Saturday night through Monday afternoon, and a Wind Advisory covered Kohala, Kau, lower Puna and interior areas with gusts up to 55 mph possible.
“There’s definitely tension in the air” at the thought of more rain in communities hit by raging floods, said Tiffany Edwards Hunt, a teacher in Keaau on the east side of the Big Island.
Federal Assistance Sought
Gov. Green signed a formal request asking the White House to issue a presidential emergency declaration covering Hawaii County, Maui County and the City and County of Honolulu. The request seeks immediate federal assistance to protect public health and safety, maintain essential services and support communities still recovering as Moke approaches.
“Hurricane Lala caused severe damage across our state and placed an extraordinary strain on communities already recovering from previous disasters,” Green said. “We are asking for specialized federal resources to protect our communities, care for our people and keep essential services operating while another storm approaches.”
The state is requesting federal emergency protective measures and direct assistance, including specialized mortuary teams, large-capacity generators and federal support to establish temporary microgrids. The slope failure at Naalehu Cemetery disinterred human remains, creating what officials described as an urgent cultural and public health concern, according to Hawaii News Now.
Community Resilience Amid Uncertainty
In Naalehu, volunteers at the Nāʻālehu Resilience Hub have been working around the clock, trucking in water, ice and emergency supplies in a race against time before Moke’s outer bands arrive. The hub, which has operated as a soup kitchen since the COVID-19 pandemic, officially mobilized after Hurricane Lala struck.
“My heart is bursting with joy that everyone has come together with so much compassion and aloha,” said Marcia Masters, team lead for the hub. “Most of our crew here has never worked together before, and they just melded amazingly.”
Waiʻōhinu resident Kamalani Fujikawa echoed the sentiment: “It makes me emotional. It’s so hard to see my community go through so much. I really appreciate people coming from all over to help in any way they can.”
Meteorologist Casey Oswant of the National Weather Service in Honolulu offered a cautious outlook: “There will still be impacts, especially to the windward and southeast sides of the Big Island, but it will probably be a little bit more limited than what we saw with Lala.”
Moke was expected to continue its westward path near the islands through early Tuesday. As residents brace for another round of heavy rain, officials are urging people to stay home, avoid flooded areas and check on vulnerable neighbors — particularly the kupuna, the elderly.
“Take care of your neighbors, call those who are living by themselves, the kupuna especially, the most vulnerable,” Alameda said. “If we can continue to do that like we did with this past storm, we’ll get through this.”