Hawaiian Ocean View, United States: Hurricane Lane drenched Hawaii Thursdayahead of its arrival in the island state, prompting US President DonaldTrump to declare a state of emergency as landslides and flash flooding leftroads blocked.
The National Weather Service said Lane — located about 200 miles (320kilometers) south of Hawaii — remained a powerful hurricane, packing windsin excess of 130 miles per hour, although it was downgraded to categorythree mid-afternoon local time.
The eye was expected to sweep very close to or over the islands, 2,000miles southwest of the mainland US, sometime later Thursday.
Up to 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain had already fallen before dawn,according to federal authorities, with 30 inches expected in the worst-hitareas over the coming four to five days.
“Someone once told me it wasn´t raining when Noah built the Ark,” AmericanRed Cross vice-president Brad Kieserman told a news conference inWashington.
“That means that readiness is important — readiness to make sure we canfulfill our responsibility and the critical infrastructure lifelines.”
Emergency teams have set up 16 evacuation centers, with a further 19 due toopen throughout the day, authorities said, as Trump urged Hawaiians tohunker down and prepare for the worst.
“Our teams are closely coordinating with the state and local authorities.You are in our thoughts!” Trump tweeted.
Brock Long, chief of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said:”We are extremely concerned about the potentials for inland flooding,landslides occurring and damage to the transportation, communicationsinfrastructure.”
Residents across the state were stocking up on water, food, gasoline andemergency supplies as Lane drew nearer.
“Last couple of days it´s been like this — it´s been busy,” said Chris, anemployee 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 apanic mode right now — everyone is filling up gas, gas cans, propane cansand all that.”
Landslides and flooding caused by the first rainstorm partially blockedseveral roads on Big Island, according to local media.
Sea levels were expected to rise as much as two to four feet above normaltide levels, causing coastal erosion and prompting a storm surge and “largeand destructive waves.”
Surfers were observed taking advantage of the calm before the storm to getout on their boards one last time Wednesday before the ocean got tooviolent.
United Airlines announced it had canceled all Friday flights to and fromKahului International Airport on Maui, the second-largest island.
Honolulu authorities said they were planning to activate a three-minuteisland-wide outdoor siren warning system at 4:00 pm (0200 GMT Friday) toalert the public to the possibility of severe flooding.
Free transport will be available between the capital and Oahu island´sevacuation shelters, which had welcomed around 350 people by noon,according to the Maui 24/7 local news portal.
The US Coast Guard said 57,000 US military personnel already stationed inHawaii stood ready to launch search and rescue missions, and providelogistics and medical support.
“Hurricane Lane is not a well-behaved hurricane,” Governor David Ige saidin a statement as he declared a state of emergency Tuesday on Big Island.”I´ve not seen such dramatic changes in the forecast track as I´ve seenwith this storm.
Hurricanes rarely make landfall in Hawaii and the last major storm tostrike the state was nearly three decades ago, when Hurricane Inikibarreled into the island of Kauai, leaving six people dead and causingbillions of dollars in damage.
Federal officials have been working with Hawaiian utility managers to keepa close eye on the power grid, a major vulnerability in Puerto Rico lastyear when it was hit by Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 storm.
Hurricane-related deaths in Puerto Rico have been estimated at as many as4,600 people, largely because prolonged and widespread power outages andwashed out roads prevented access to health care, according to USresearchers. – APP/AFP