Waikiki Beach hit by hurricane

HONOLULU: Sirens wailed while workers piled sandbags in front of hotels and police blared warnings to tourists to leave the world-famous Waikiki Beach as Hurricane Lane barrelled north after dumping nearly 61cm of rain on Hawaii’s mostly rural Big Island.

Emergency crews rescued five California tourists from a home they were renting in Hilo after a nearby gulch overflowed and it flooded on Thursday.

Suzanne Demerais said a tiny waterfall and small stream flowed near the home when she first arrived with four of her friends from the Los Angeles area. But the stream turned into a torrent and the river rose rapidly over 24 hours.

Hawaii County firefighters, who were in touch with the home’s owner, decided to evacuate the group before the water rose further. They floated the five out on their backs, Demerais said.

“It was quite an experience because we weren’t planning to have a hurricane during our vacation time,” Demerais said.

Hurricane Lane, whose center was still offshore, lashed the Big Island with more than 76cm of rain in about 24 hours. It had maximum sustained winds near 193km/h, making it a Category 3 hurricane. A wind gust of 107km/h was recorded at Kohala Ranch on the northern side of the Big Island.

Forecasters said the centre of the storm would move close to or over parts of Hawaii’s main islands yesterday, bringing dangerous surf of 6m.

About 320km north of Hilo, on the state’s most populated island of Oahu, employees at Sheraton Waikiki resort filled sandbags to protect the oceanfront hotel from surging surf.

Stores along Waikiki’s glitzy Kalakaua Avenue stacked sandbags along the bottom of their glass windows to prepare for heavy rain and flash flooding.

Police on loudspeakers told surfers and swimmers to get out of the water, saying the beach would be closed until further notice.

The Marriott Resort Waikiki Beach in Honolulu designated a ballroom on the third floor as a shelter for guests and began removing chairs from around the pool and bar area.

United Airlines cancelled its flights yesterday to and from Maui. The airline added two additional flights from Honolulu to San Francisco on Thursday to help transport people off the islands.

Hawaiian Airlines cancelled all flights yesterday by its commuter carrier, Ohana by Hawaiian. – AP/African News Agency (ANA)