Spokane woman returns from Hawaii as Hurricane Lane causes widespread damage

The government listed more than a dozen other road and bridge closures as of Thursday night. 10-20 more inches of rain may fall with some isolated areas seeing an additional 30 to 40 inches. That should happen by Saturday morning, but if it doesn’t, wind conditions on land will be more unsafe.

As of 2 a.m., the hurricane was 335 miles (540 kilometers) south of Honolulu and moving northwest. Most stores closed at 4 p.m. HT on Thursday, and on Friday the streets were fairly empty, which is rare for Honolulu. Still, many tourists are seeking shelters.

Some of those who arrived back in B.C. Friday said they were disappointed to have to cut their trips short, but that it was ultimately the responsible thing to do.

A auto is stuck partially submerged in floodwaters from Hurricane Lane rainfall on the Big Island on Wednesday in Hilo, Hawaii.

“We get a lot of near misses and so people kind of pooh-pooh it in the early stages but in the past couple of days as people have seen the maps and the projections getting very very close people have got very serious about preparing in terms of putting wood over their windows and also getting the food and supplies they need”, he said.

“We have taken steps to reduce fares beyond what a regular last-minute fare would be”, United spokesman Frank Benenati told CNBC, saying passengers “traveling to, from or through areas” affected by the hurricane can waive their change fees and difference in airfare. “If you fix the power first, you solve 90 percent of the problems”, he said.

Despite the flooding and landslides making headlines nationwide, some tourists were unfazed, with almost 300,000 now visiting the state, US Sen.

“It was like waterfalls coming off my roof”, he said of Thursday’s downpours. So far, about 1,500 people, mostly on Oahu, were in emergency shelters, said Brad Kieserman of the American Red Cross.

Emergency officials said repeatedly over loudspeakers, “Please get out of the water!”

The storm was slowing as it approaches the state’s capital, Honolulu, but forecasters caution that could mean more rain will fall.

The service says some weakening is expected Friday but that the hurricane is expected to remain unsafe as it approaches Hawaii’s islands.

Battering surf, landslides, coastal flooding and high winds will also be threats throughout Saturday. A process called decoupling could be underway which could mean a quicker turn to the west and faster weakening than is now shown by the official forecast.

In Maui, a fast-growing wildfire forced the evacuation of homes and an emergency shelter set up for the storm in Lahaina, where no rain was yet falling, officials said.

Honolulu authorities said they were planning to activate a three-minute island-wide outdoor siren warning system at 4:00 pm (0200 GMT Friday) to alert the public to the possibility of severe flooding.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for parts of Maui County, and a warning is still in effect for Hawaiʻi Island. A flash flood watch is in effect for the rest fo the state in anticipation of the heavy rainfall.

In the state’s history, only two storms of this strength have ever come within 350 miles (563 km) of the islands, according to the NWS.

The central Pacific gets fewer hurricanes than other regions, with only about four or five named storms a year.

Normally, Eck explained, wet air following trade winds runs from the southeast into the tall volcanic mountains on Hawaii and drops its water, leading to a steady drumbeat of small showers and occasional thunderstorms. People stood on a bridge during a break in the rain to capture video and pictures, still hopeful the storm will soften it’s blow.