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Hurricane Lane: Hawaii Warned of ‘Life-Threatening Impacts’ From Storm
Hawaii Braces for a Rare Encounter with a Hurricane
(about 3 hours later)
Rain lashed Hawaii’s Big Island on Thursday as Hurricane Lane barreled through the Pacific Ocean as a Category 4 storm, threatening to be the first hurricane to make landfall on the islands since 1992.
First came an errant alert that a ballistic missile was headed for Hawaii. Then 50 inches of rain were recorded in one day on Kauai, flooding parts of the island. Next a slow-motion eruption of the Kilauea volcano ravaged parts of the Big Island. Now the state is facing its latest potential calamity: A Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of up to 125 miles an hour.
Even if it does not make landfall, the National Weather Service warned, the storm could bring “life-threatening impacts,” including hurricane-force winds, torrential rain and flash flooding. The storm’s outer rain bands had put much of the eastern part of the Big Island of Hawaii under a flash flood warning by Thursday morning, and one site in Hilo had already recorded more than 18 inches of rain.
“I boarded up my chicken coop and boarded up my house and prepared for the oncoming, next disaster,” said Stefani Hinkle, a farmer and performer who lives near a major fissure in the volcanic eruption. Ms. Hinkle spent Wednesday night quaking in bed as the outer bands of Hurricane Lane blew wind and rain sideways into her house.
Officials warned that the unpredictable track of the hurricane left much of the state potentially vulnerable.
“I had several dreams,” she said, “about the ocean god joining the fire goddess.”
“Hawaii is going to be impacted by Hurricane Lane, the question is how bad,” said Brock Long, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “We’re extremely concerned about the potentials for inland flooding, landslides occurring, and damage to the transportation, communications infrastructure.”
Forecasts predict that the powerful hurricane could come dangerously close to the islands of Oahu, Molokai and Maui on Friday and Saturday, and the National Weather Service warned of “significant and life-threatening flash flooding and landslides” even if the storm skirts the islands.
Here are the latest developments:
Like Ms. Hinkley, homeowners across the state boarded up windows and stocked up as the hurricane approached, emptying stores of essentials like water and batteries. The governor, David Ige, urged residents to have enough food, water and other essentials to last for 14 days.
• As of Thursday morning, local time, Hurricane Lane was 205 miles southwest of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island and 290 miles south of Honolulu, with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles an hour. It was moving northwest at about 7 miles an hour and was expected to make a northward turn, with the potential to pass dangerously close to islands like Maui, Moloka’i and Oahu on Friday night.
Lane is only the second hurricane to reach Category 5 strength, with winds above 155 miles an hour, and pass within 350 miles and to the south of the Big Island since the Weather Service started keeping records. The other was John, in August of 1994; that storm continued on to the westward side of the islands and had “very little impact.”
• Lane was expected to bring tropical storm and hurricane-force winds to parts of Hawaii, with up to 30 inches of rain in some areas, according to the National Weather Service.
A hurricane of this magnitude so close to Hawaii is “a very rare event,” said Alex Gibbs of the National Weather Service’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu.
• President Trump issued an emergency declaration for the state on Thursday morning, authorizing FEMA to coordinate relief efforts.
In 1992, another storm, Hurricane Iniki, veered into Kauai as a Category 4 storm. It killed six people and caused about $3 billion in damage, leveling more than 1,400 homes and damaging about 14,000. Power and phone lines were out for weeks, and crops like banana and papaya were destroyed.
• The state’s 15 airports were set to remain open during the storm, barring infrastructure damage. As of Thursday morning, flightaware.com reported some delays at airports across the islands.
Direct hits on Hawaii are unusual, in part because the islands are small in comparison to the rest of the Pacific Ocean. Other conditions that make Hawaii an infrequent target of hurricanes include the cooler water temperatures near the islands and wind shear, which weakens storms.
• The County of Hawaii Civil Defense agency said flooding and landslides had closed some roads, including Highway 19 north of Hilo, and waters were rising in creeks and streams.
Forecasters say that both factors are expected to influence Hurricane Lane in the coming hours. The storm’s exact track is uncertain, and it is was expected to weaken slightly. Still, the storm promises to bring heavy damage to the main Hawaiian islands as its winds surge through steep mountain slopes and tall buildings. The fact that Lane is moving slowly means that it is likely to dump large amounts of rain.
Alex Gibbs, a forecaster with the National Weather Service’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu, said that such a powerful hurricane coming so close to Hawaii was “a very rare event.”
On Thursday, the outer bands of the storm lashed the Big Island, swelling creeks and rivers and triggering road-blocking landslides. Nearly 20 inches of rain had been recorded at one observation station.
Only two Category 5 storms have passed within 350 miles south of the Big Island in the agency’s record-keeping, he said. The last was John, in August 1994; that storm passed on the westward side of the islands and had “very little impact.” Lane was at one point also a Category 5 before weakening on its approach.
Although climate change does not cause hurricanes, climate experts said that it can make storms like Lane more damaging.
In 1992, Hurricane Iniki made a sharp turn and veered into Kauai as a Category 4 storm. It killed six people and left about $3 billion worth of damage, leveling more than 1,400 homes and leaving more than 14,000 with at least some level of damage. Power and phone lines were out for weeks throughout the island, and crops like banana and papaya were destroyed.
Kristen Corbosiero, an assistant professor with University at Albany’s atmospheric and environmental sciences department, said that scientific research shows that climate change has led to rising sea levels, which can worsen storm surge. In addition, she said, warmer temperatures put more moisture in the atmosphere, producing greater rainfall, which in a place like Hawaii means greater flooding and mudslides.
Such passes are so rare, in part, because “the islands are very small with respect to the central Pacific Ocean basin,” Mr. Gibbs said. (Other conditions that make Hawaii an infrequent target of hurricanes include the cooler water temperatures near the islands and wind shear, which weakens storms.)
Recent research also suggests that climate change has led to storms moving more slowly, she said. “Those all spell greater damage from hurricanes.”
The situation with Lane, however, is “quite a bit different” than usual, Mr. Gibbs said.
Lane was unwelcome news for some of the estimated 270,000 tourists on the islands this week. Stephanie and Marc Johnston of Melbourne, Australia, cut their honeymoon short to leave on Wednesday, before the rains began. But Vicky Maywald, a Texan who was vacationing with five family members, was sticking to her Oahu vacation.
The danger felt new and deeply unsettling to some residents, who heeded the Weather Service’s advice that preparations to safeguard life and property should be “rushed to completion.”
“We’re from Texas,” she said, “so we’ve been through a few hurricanes.”
“Maui has not faced anything like this before. It’s serious,” Audrey Reed, 76, a resident of that island, said on Wednesday. “We’ve got everything we need: batteries, water, canned and dry foods, medication, first-aid kit, flashlights. It’s just a matter now of hunkering down and trying to ride it out.”
For many of the island’s residents, it was hard to believe that a hurricane would make a direct hit when they have been spared so many times in the past. Still, some people prepared with a sense of urgency.
The agency’s forecast anticipates that the storm will weaken significantly as it moves toward land. Still, Lane is expected to bring heavy damage to the main Hawaiian islands with winds that will accelerate along steep mountain slopes and tall buildings.
“I’m normally not a person that makes sure my gas tanks are full and everything is all settled and organized, but I totally organized and brought everything in, and my chickens are in the garage,” said Heather Nelson, 39, who works in event production and lives in Volcano, Hawaii.
The fact that Lane is a slow-moving storm means it is likely to dump prodigious amounts of rain, as well, with “life-threatening flash flooding and landslides over all Hawaiian islands,” the Weather Service said.
Dana Asis, 43, a Realtor in the north-central part of the Big Island, said there had been a run on the feed store in her area.
Hawaii’s remote geography and mountainous terrain could pose challenges for recovery in the event of widespread damage, and Gov. David Ige urged people to have a 14-day supply of food stocked up before the storm.
“Since it’s unusual for us, I feel it’s prudent for us to be a little bit more prepared and aware,” Ms. Asis said.
This is the third time in less than a year that Hawaii has braced for potential disaster. In January, an errant emergency alert about an incoming ballistic missile triggered an island-wide panic. In May, the Kilauea volcano began to erupt, sending lava rolling over roads and homes in the same area that is now under a flash flood watch.
Others tried to take the hurricane in stride. On Oahu, on a ridge overlooking the enormous volcanic cone known as Diamond Head, Bob Larsen brought in the outdoor furniture and made pancakes on Thursday morning.
As some tourists tried to decide whether to stay or to go, many residents seemed to take the hurricane in stride.
The dire storm warnings made for a jarring juxtaposition with the stunning environs, but Mr. Larsen and his partner, Irna Hirano, 70, a retired schoolteacher, hoped their solar power system would provide enough energy to keep the lights and refrigerator running through the storm.
On a ridge overlooking the enormous volcanic cone known as Diamond Head, Bob Larsen brought in the outdoor furniture and made pancakes on Thursday morning, just as he had the day of the missile warning in January.
In Honolulu, caseworkers and outreach workers for the homeless were trying to warn their clients that the storm could be dangerous. There are some 7,000 or 8,000 homeless people on the island of Oahu, said Kimo Carvalho with the Institute for Human Services, a nonprofit group. The organization was making phone calls and combing the streets, trying to get people into shelters.
The dire storm warnings made for a jarring juxtaposition with the stunning environs, but Mr. Larsen and his partner, Irna Hirano, 70, a retired schoolteacher, hoped they were prepared.
“We have water, canned and dried food, and a freezer full of provisions,” Ms. Hirano said. She hoped their solar power system would provide enough energy to keep the lights and refrigerator running through the storm.
Irene Tanabe, 67, an Episcopal rector in Honolulu, said her parishioners were taking the impending storm in stride. “Nothing we can do about it,” she said.
But Ms. Tanabe expressed mild concern about her house, which is not retrofitted for a hurricane. “If the roof blows off, that means I will have less stuff,” Ms. Tanabe said. “And at my age, that’s a good thing.”
Elsewhere in Honolulu, caseworkers and outreach workers for the homeless were trying to warn their clients that the storm could be dangerous. There are some 7,000 or 8,000 homeless people on the island of Oahu, said Kimo Carvalho with the Institute for Human Services, a nonprofit group. Her organization was making phone calls and combing the streets, trying to get people into shelters.
“There are actually a lot of homeless clients right now that are saying, ‘We’re going to ride out the storm,’” Mr. Carvalho said. “We’re trying to convince them to take it seriously.”
“There are actually a lot of homeless clients right now that are saying, ‘We’re going to ride out the storm,’” Mr. Carvalho said. “We’re trying to convince them to take it seriously.”
Climate change does not cause hurricanes; they have always been a feature of both the Atlantic and Pacific basins. But scientists said that climate change can make hurricanes like Lane more damaging for a number of reasons.
Irene Tanabe, 67, an Episcopal rector in Honolulu, said her parishioners were facing the storm impassively, just as they had the missile: “Nothing we can do about it,” she said.
Kristen Corbosiero, an associate professor in the atmospheric environmental sciences department of the University at Albany, noted that “it’s hard to attribute climate change to any one system,” but she said that scientific research shows that climate change has led to rising sea levels, which can worsen storm surge. And warming puts more moisture in the atmosphere, producing greater amounts of rainfall.
And back on the Big Island, in Kalapana, Suzette Ridolfi, a teacher, was grateful that the hurricane meant a couple of extra days off school, because it would allow hear to clean up some of the particles still left in her home by the volcanic eruption.
In a place like Hawaii, that means flooding and mudslides. In addition, she said, recent research suggests that climate change has led to a trend of storms moving more slowly. “Those all spell greater damage from hurricanes,” she said.
“The volcano was way more scary,” Ms. Ridolfi said. “Rain, we can take.”
Research compiled by the Climate Signals website also suggests that climate change appears to be causing the most powerful storms to become even stronger than they otherwise would be. Warming ocean surface temperatures in the Pacific are increasing the energy that passing storms can pick up; sea surface temperatures along Lane’s path have been more than four degrees Fahrenheit above average this summer.
Hurricane Lane arrives as other parts of the nation are still recovering from the megastorms of 2017. Hurricane Harvey hit Houston almost exactly one year ago, causing dozens of deaths and catastrophic flooding, and it was followed by Hurricane Irma’s wallop to Florida.
Then came Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, which may have killed more than 1,400 people, according to one analysis, and caused massive power outages. Some of the last residents were still getting their power back earlier this month.
