Hawaiian authorities have reported more than 30 inches of rainfall and severe flooding in parts of the Big Island as of late Friday morning local time, as the northern part of Hurricane Lane moves in and the eye of the storm continues its approach through the Pacific Ocean.
The Category 2 storm is moving at just 5 miles per hour and is expected to get closer to the northern string of islands by Saturday afternoon Hawaiian time before shifting west and moving out of the area. The hurricane is currently about 150 miles south of Honolulu.
[Related: ‘Don’t let your guard down,’ federal officials tell Hawaii]
Hurricane Lane in Photos: Massive Storm as Seen from Space https://t.co/OsZBb39813 pic.twitter.com/B49LAzZY2h
— SPACE.com (@SPACEdotcom) August 23, 2018
Meteorologists have clocked maximum sustained winds of 105 miles per hour with gusts of up to 125 miles per hour reported Friday morning.
Some parts of Hawaii are expected to receive a total 40 inches of rain by Sunday.
Hawaii resident captures a major surge of the Wailuku River, which sent water crashing downstream as Hurricane Lane bears down. https://t.co/KBxiSdaupf pic.twitter.com/KXTRFu42zW
— ABC News (@ABC) August 24, 2018
A Maui County official said two brush fires erupted in Maui — one late Thursday and another Friday morning — though they don’t know how the fires started, according to CNN.
All schools and government offices throughout the state are closed. Gov. David Ige also urged the 1.4 million residents to stock up on food, water, and other supplies to last two weeks.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Red Cross have established shelters, planted rescue teams, and supply centers throughout the islands. The Red Cross reported 1,526 people stayed in its 36 shelters Thursday night and expects that number to jump to as many as 3,000 people by Saturday.
FEMA has dispatched three urban search and rescue teams as well as two disaster medical assistance teams. The government agency has distributed at least 80 generators throughout the state’s four counties.
We’ve pre-staged food, water, generators, & other commodities in Hawaii to support emergency resource needs for Hurricane #Lane. More generators arrived on the islands today in anticipation of the storm’s impacts. We continue to work closely with our partners to prepare. pic.twitter.com/Y77HgZLdUV
— FEMA (@fema) August 24, 2018
