Hurricane Lane lashes out at Hawaii

Storm downgraded to Category 3, but main island pummelled by rain

A powerful hurricane unleashed torrents of rain and landslides Thursday that blocked roads on the rural Big Island but didn’t scare tourists away from surfing and swimming at popular Honolulu beaches still preparing to be pummeled by the erratic storm.

Employees of the Sheraton Waikiki resort on the famed beach filled up sandbags as shuttered stores stacked them against the bottom of their glass windows to prepare for massive rain, flooding and damaging surf on Oahu. Hurricane Lane already lashed the Big Island with nearly 20 inches of rain in nearly 24 hours and was moving closer to Hawaii, a shift that will put the Big Island and Maui “in the thick” of the storm, National Weather Service meteorologist Melissa Dye said. The agency has downgraded the storm to a Category 3.

The centre of the hurricane packing maximum sustained winds of 130 mph was expected to move close to or over portions of the main islands later Thursday or Friday, bringing dangerous surf of 20 feet (6 metres) and a storm surge of up to 4feet (1metre), forecasters said.

Lane was not projected to make a direct hit on the islands, but officials warned that even a lesser blow could do significant harm.

Some areas could see up to 30 inches (about 80 centimetres) of rain.

“Rain has been non-stop for the last half-hour or so, and winds are just starting to pick up,” said Pablo Akira Beimler, who lives in Honokaa on the Big Island. “Our usually quiet stream is raging right now.”

Beimler, who posted videos of trees being blown sideways, said staying put is about the only choice he has. The road to Hilo was cut off due to landslides, he said. “We essentially have one way in and out of our towns so sheltering in place is the priority,” Beimler said in a Twitter message.

Hawaii’s biggest hotels are confident they can keep their guests safe as long as they stay inside, said Mufi Hannemann, CEO of Hawaii Tourism and Lodging Association.

Members of his association, which include the state’s major hotels, are shifting into high gear with their emergency management plans, he said.

“The only concern is those that venture outside of the properties, that would like to hike on a day like this or who would like to still go into the ocean and see what it’s like to take a swim or surf in these kind of waters,” Hannemann said.

Hotels are trying to warn travellers against that, he said.