Tag: Big Island

Scramble for Food and Water as Hurricane Lane Approaches Hawaii

Dangerous, hurricane-force winds were expected to hit the Big Island overnight and slam Maui Thursday afternoon.

Honolulu: Hurricane Lane, threatening a direct hit as Hawaii’s worst storm in a quarter century, churned toward the main island of Oahu on Thursday as schools, government offices and business closed while residents stocked up on supplies and boarded up homes.

Lane, classified as a powerful Category 4 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane strength, was packing sustained winds of up to 145 miles per hour (230 km/h) and could dump as much as 20 inches of rain over parts of the US Pacific island state, triggering flash flooding and landslides, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned.

As of 5 pm (0300 GMT), the storm was centered 260 miles (415 km) south of Kailua-Kona as it moved northwest at about 8 miles per hour, the weather service said.

Dangerous, hurricane-force winds were expected to hit the Big Island overnight and slam Maui Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service said. To the north, Oahu was under a hurricane warning while Kauai remained on hurricane watch meaning it could face such conditions starting Friday morning.

“Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,” the center said. “Life threatening impacts are likely in some areas as the hurricane makes its closest approach.”

Governor David Ige urged residents to prepare for the worst by setting aside a 14-day supply of water, food and medicines in the event of major damage to roads and infrastructure.

“I urge our residents and visitors to take this threat seriously and prepare for a significant impact,” the governor said at a news conference in the state capital, Honolulu.

He also announced that all public schools, University of Hawaii campuses and non-essential government offices on the islands of Oahu and Kauai would be closed for at least two days starting on Thursday.

Store shelves stripped

The shelves of a downtown Honolulu Walmart were stripped of items ranging from canned tuna to dog food. Shoppers jostled with one another to get the last boxes of ramen noodles.

“There’s nothing in there,” said one shopper leaving the store.

City residents used carts to push cases of bottled water and coolers full of ice, after warnings of possible power outages and evacuations.

Cars waited in long lines at gasoline stations in Honolulu and people could be seen pulling small boats from the water ahead of Lane’s expected storm surge.

“I went to Safeway last night for regular groceries, everyone was in a panic,” said Thao Nguyen, 35, an employee at a Honolulu branch of Hawaiian shirt retailer Roberta Oaks.

“People were buying cases of tiny water bottles.”

President Donald Trump directed FEMA and administration officials to remain in close coordination with the state, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters.

“The president is deeply concerned for the well-being of all Hawaiians,” she said.

US Navy ships and submarines based in Hawaii were instructed to leave port, a common practice as a hurricane approaches to avoid damage.

The most powerful storm on record to hit Hawaii was Hurricane Iniki, a Category 4 storm that made landfall on Kauai island on September 11, 1992, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It killed six people and damaged or destroyed more than 14,000 homes.

(Reuters)

Fresh Quakes Hit Hawaii After Kilauea Volcano Erupts, Hundreds Evacuated

The volcano, one of five on the island, began erupting on Thursday after a series of earthquakes over the past week.

Pahoa: A series of fresh earthquakes on Friday, including a couple capable of causing considerable damage, hit Hawaii’s Big Island, where the Kilauea volcano has been spewing fountains of lava into residential areas and forcing hundreds to evacuate.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) said the latest tremor at 12:32 pm (2332 GMT) measured a magnitude of 5.8.

The Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency said the quake, which was on land close to the volcano, was not large enough to cause a tsunami.

Its epicentre was located 19.3 km southwest of Leilani Estates, one of the communities where lava has been burbling up from the ground from newly opened fissures or vents.

A new fissure opened up just before the latest tremor on Friday, the Defense Agency said in a text message, making a total of four found so far in residential areas.

The volcano, one of five on the island, began erupting on Thursday after a series of earthquakes over the past week, the USGS reported on its website. Starting around 11 am on Friday, the island experienced a flurry of earthquakes, the largest registering magnitude 5.8.

Residents in Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens subdivisions, home to about 1,700 people, were ordered to evacuate after public works officials reported steam and lava erupting from fissures in the road, the Civil Defense agency said.

No injuries or deaths were reported.

“There are lava tubes on our property,” said Dale Miller, 58, a Leilani Estates resident, referring to the natural tunnels underground that drain lava during an eruption. “The whole thing is Swiss cheese.”

“It felt like there was something under the house – like a big snake was moving under the house,” said Lee Begaye, 61, Miller’s partner and housemate. Lee added this was the first time in eight years of living by the volcano that they’d had to evacuate.

Civil defence officials have warned the public about high levels of sulfur dioxide near the volcano, one reason for the evacuation orders. The gas can cause skin irritations and breathing difficulties.

Keala Noel, 64, also from Leilani Estates, said she didn’t feel the lava was directly threatening them, but came to the shelter at 3 am on Friday because of the sulphur. “We stayed because we didn’t feel any imminent danger. But I could hardly breathe yesterday.”

Two emergency shelters were opened to take in evacuees, the Civil Defense Agency said, while Governor David Ige activated the Hawaii National Guard to provide emergency help.

An ash cloud rises above Kilauea Volcano after it erupted, on Hawaii's Big Island May 3, 2018, in this photo obtained from social media. Credit: Janice Wei/via Reuters

An ash cloud rises above Kilauea Volcano after it erupted, on Hawaii’s Big Island May 3, 2018, in this photo obtained from social media. Credit: Janice Wei/via Reuters

“Please be alert and prepare now to keep your family safe,” he said on Twitter to residents living near the volcano.

One resident, Ikaika Marzo, told Hawaii News Now he saw “fountains” of lava as high as 38 meters. Others also told the news network they smelled burning brush and heard tree branches snapping.

Footage from a drone aired on the Hawaii News Now website showed lava incinerating trees as it crept near structures.

A 150–meter fissure erupted with lava for about two hours in Leilani Estates at about 5:30 pm, the Hawaii Volcano Observatory said on its website.

Lava, which can reach temperatures of about 1,150 celsius, spread less than about 10 meters from the fissure, the observatory said.

“The opening phases of fissure eruptions are dynamic and uncertain. Additional erupting fissures and new lava outbreaks may occur,” it said.

A plume of red ash rose from the volcano’s Pu’u ‘O’o vent high into the sky over the island, according to photos on social media.

Production at the Puna Geothermal plant was suspended until further notice, the Civil Defense Agency said on Friday, while Hawaii Electric Light said crews were disconnecting power in the areas affected by the active lava flow.

The Kilauea volcano has been erupting nearly continuously for more than three decades. Lava flows from the volcano have covered 125 square km, according to the US Geological Survey. Scientists say it is nearly impossible to predict how long an eruption will last.

Betty Long, 72, another Leilani Estates resident, evacuated to the shelter near Pahoa in the early hours of Friday morning, but her husband stayed behind with their pets because he was afraid of looters.

“I think my husband is like a lot of residents there” who are assuming looting is going to be a problem. “That’s why they are reluctant to leave,” she said.

Long said that while their retirement home is a gorgeous place to live, it comes with risks. She and her husband faced a choice between purchasing hurricane or volcano insurance. They chose the hurricane insurance, she said.

(Reuters)