Hawaii residents emptied store shelves Wednesday, claimed the last sheets of plywood to board up windows and drained gas pumps as Hurricane Lane churned toward the state.
The category 4 storm could slam into the islands Thursday with winds exceeding 100 mph, making it the most powerful storm to hit Hawaii since Hurricane Iniki in 1992.
The National Weather Service said a hurricane warning was issued for Maui County, the Big Island and Oahu and hurricane watch was in effect for Kauai.
Around 5pm Wednesday, Hurricane Lane weakened as it approached Hawaii but was still expected to pack a wallop, forecasters have said.
The hurricane was about 305 miles south of Kailua-Kona and moving northwest toward other islands.
This image provided by NASA on Wednesday, August 22, 2018 shows Hurricane Lane as seen from the International Space Station
Empty shelves of a supermaket are seen as residents of Oahu are re-stocking their water and non-perishable food supplies as preparation for the looming threat of Hurricane Lane in Oahu, Hawaii, on Wednesday
Loren, right, and Ruby Aquino, of Honolulu, load water into their car ahead of Hurricane Lane, Wednesday, August 22, 2018 in Honolulu. Hurricane Lane has weakened as it approaches Hawaii but was still expected to pack a wallop, forecasters said Wednesday
People stand in a line waiting to fill up propane tanks at a local hardware store on Wednesday in Honolulu
Aly Klein, right, and her mother Clarice Klein walks out of a local hardware store with several buckets of hurricane supplies on Wednesday
Meteorologist Chevy Chevalier said winds slowed overnight from 160mph to 155mph, prompting a downgrade of the hurricane from a Category 5 to a Category 4.
He added it may diminish to a Category 3 by Thursday afternoon but that would still be a major hurricane.
Mr Chevalier said that by early Friday, the hurricane is forecast to be a Category 2 with winds up to 110mph and the centre located west of Hawaii Island and south of Honolulu.
‘We expect it to gradually weaken as it gets closer to the islands,’ he said.
‘That being said, on our current forecast, as of the afternoon on Thursday, we still have it as a major hurricane.’
With winds to 130 mph, the hurricane could cause catastrophic damage.
Unlike Florida or Texas, where residents can get in their cars and drive hundreds of miles to safety, people in Hawaii are confined to the islands and can’t outrun the powerful winds and driving rain.
Around 5pm Wednesday, Hurricane Lane weakened as it approached Hawaii but was still expected to pack a wallop
A handout image from NASA shows a satellite image with overlay from the GPM core satellite that passed over Hurricane Lane when it was a Category 5 hurricane in the Central Pacific Ocean, near Hawaii, on Wednesday
Instead, they must stay put and make sure they have enough supplies to outlast prolonged power outages and other potential emergencies.
‘Everyone is starting to buckle down at this point,’ said Christyl Nagao of Kauai. ‘Our families are here. We have businesses and this and that. You just have to man your fort and hold on tight.’
Living in an isolated island state also means the possibility that essential goods can’t be shipped to Hawaii if the storm shuts down ports.
‘You’re stuck here and resources might not get here in time,’ Nagao said.
The Big Island was already starting to see Lane’s first effects Wednesday, Gov. David Ige said at a news conference.
The hurricane’s outer rain bands were bringing showers to some parts of the island, said Matt Foster, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
The eastern side of the island picked up nearly 3 inches (7.62 centimeters) of rain in three hours, while there was light rain in other areas, Foster said.
‘Heavy rain in Hilo right now,’ Hawaii County Managing Director Wil Okabe said of the east side town. But on the west side, ‘nothing. It’s a nice day.’
Public schools were closed for the rest of the week and local government workers were told to stay home unless they’re essential employees.
A handout image made available by NASA on 22 August 2018 and taken by an Expedition 56 crew member from the International Space Station shows Hurricane Lane in the Central Pacific Ocean, near Hawaii, August 22, 2018
This satellite image provided by NOAA on Wednesday, August 22, 2018 shows Hurricane Lane south of Hawaii. The National Weather Service’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center expects Lane to move very close to over Hawaii from Thursday through Saturday
Shelters were being readied to open on Oahu, Maui, Molokai and Lanai. Officials said they would open shelters on other islands when needed. Officials were also working to help Hawaii’s sizeable homeless population, many of whom live near beaches and streams that could flood.
Maui County officials warned that those needing to use Molokai’s shelter should get there soon because of concerns that high surf could make the main highway on the south coast of the island impassable.
Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Administrator Tom Travis said there’s not enough shelter space statewide. He advised those who are not in flood zones to stay home.
Many residents were trying to reinforce older homes made with single-wall construction.
‘We’re planning on boarding up all our windows and sliding doors,’ Napua Puaoi of Wailuku, Maui, said after buying 16 pieces of plywood from Home Depot. ‘As soon as my husband comes home – he has all the power tools.’
Molokai real estate agent Pearl Hodgins said she expected the island’s two stores to soon run out of bottled water and batteries.
Melanie Davis, who lives in a suburb outside Honolulu, said she was gathering canned food and baby formula.
‘We’re getting some bags of rice and of course, some Spam,’ she said of the canned lunch meat that’s popular in Hawaii.
She was organizing important documents into a folder – birth and marriage certificates, Social Security cards, insurance paperwork – and making sure her three children, all under 4, have flotation devices such as swimming vests – ‘just in case.’
Meteorologist Chevy Chevalier said Lane may drop to a Category 3 by Thursday afternoon but that would still be a major hurricane.
‘We expect it to gradually weaken as it gets closer to the islands,’ Chevalier said. ‘That being said, on our current forecast, as of the afternoon on Thursday, we still have it as a major hurricane.’
Puaoi said Home Depot opened at 6 a.m., and employees reported there was already a line around the building.
‘We are fully stocked,’ she said. ‘We have about nine cases of water because we’re having family stay with us as well, so one case per person.’
The U.S. Navy was moving its ships and submarines out of Hawaii. All vessels not currently undergoing maintenance were being positioned to help respond after the storm, if needed.
Navy aircraft will be kept in hangars or flown to other airfields to avoid the storm.
The central Pacific gets fewer hurricanes than other regions, with about only four or five named storms a year. Hawaii rarely gets hit. The last major storm to hit was Iniki in 1992. Others have come close in recent years.
Puaoi was 12 when Iniki hit Hawaii.
‘When it did happen, I just remember, pandemonium, it was all out craziness,’ she said.
The ABC store in the lobby of the King Kamehameha Marriot, is boarded up and secured in preparation for the approaching storm, in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii on Wednesday
People check out at a grocery story ahead of Hurricane Lane, Wednesday, August 22, 2018 in Honolulu
Traffic backs up for more than a city block as cars wait to get into a parking lot at a local hardware store Wednesday in Honolulu
City Mill hardware store sales associates Frank Miller Gascon, left, Lisa Lavilla, fill a table up with duck tape, flashlights, and other hurricane supplies on Wednesday
Steve Stigall assists a customer stocking up on flashlights in preparation for Hurricane Lane at Ace Hardware in Ocean View, on the southwestern corner of the island of Ocean View, Hawaii, on Wednesday
Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.