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29 March 2024

Hawaii escapes Iselle, as Julio threatens

Published
By Agencies

Tropical Storm Iselle pummeled the Hawaiian Islands with high winds and heavy rain on Friday, forcing hundreds to seek shelter and knocking out power to more than 20,000 people as residents kept a wary eye on an even more powerful storm headed their way.

Iselle had weakened into a tropical storm before reaching Hawaii and officials said it was blunted to some extent by the state's mountainous Big Island, though high winds and heavy rain were still expected to lash smaller islands in the chain.

A Japanese couple walks past a sailing canoe on the beach after taking wedding pictures as two hurricanes approach the Hawaiian islands, in Honolulu, Hawaii, August 6, 2014. Hawaiians braced for a one-two punch from a pair of major storms headed their way on Wednesday, as Hurricane Iselle bore down on the islands packing high winds and heavy surf and Julio, tracking right behind, was upgraded to hurricane status.  (REUTERS)



As residents were cleaning up on Friday evening, the National Weather Service lifted its tropical storm warning for all of Hawaii.

"I think we've come through in great fashion," Governor Neil Abercrombie told an evening news conference.

Officials, however, warned residents not to become complacent amid massive doses of wind and rain, scattered debris and power outages, and uncertainty over the pathway of a bigger storm hurtling toward them.

 


Bodysurfers and boogie boarders catch waves at Sandy beach on the east side of Oahu as Tropical Storm Iselle passes through the Hawaiian islands, in Honolulu, Hawaii, August 8, 2014. The center of Tropical Storm Iselle made landfall on Hawaii's Big Island on Friday, bringing strong winds and heavy rain, knocking down trees and causing power outages ahead of a more powerful storm gathering strength behind it.  (REUTERS)


"Next on tap is Hurricane Julio, which still is packing winds of about 100 mph (161 kph)," said National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Cantin. "Right now our guidance is indicating it's going to go north (of the state), but that can change and folks need to keep on guard."

State officials also gave the all-clear for a Democratic primary election to proceed as scheduled on Saturday. All but two polling stations on the hardest-hit east coast of the Big Island would be open, they said.

 

In this June 28, 2014 photo provided by NASA, NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) is lifted aboard the Kahana recovery vessel off the coast of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. NASA engineers insist that a test of technology they hope to one day use above Mars achieved most of its objectives and taught them essential lessons for their next try despite a parachute that virtually disintegrated the moment it deployed. (AP)

As Iselle passed over the Big Island with winds of up to 50 mph (80 kph) and pummeled eastern areas from Puna to Hilo with heavy rains, some 2,000 people had hunkered down in evacuation shelters across the state. Later in the day, that figure was reduced to about 900 people as many evacuees returned to their homes, said an American Red Cross spokeswoman.

At one point, 23,000 people were left without power on the Big Island and Maui. Officials have succeeded in restoring power to thousands of those customers, but 1,500 were still without electricity on Oahu and 17,000 on the Big Island, according to utility companies.

Abercrombie said earlier that even as the eye of the storm moved south past the Big Island, a broader cone of wind and rain could still affect other islands.

There were no reports of major injuries from Iselle.

Visitors at the Ali’i Drive seawall watch large storm-driven waves in Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii, Friday, Aug. 8, 2014. Iselle, the first tropical storm to hit the state in 22 years, knocked out power, caused flooding and downed trees when it crossed onto the Big Island in a rural and sparsely populated region. (AP)

Emergency officials found the body of a man in his 50s or 60s in the ocean near Honolulu's Ala Moana Beach Park at 5 p.m. local time, though it was not immediately known whether his death was weather-related, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper reported.

NOW THERE'S JULIO

Julio, which was downgraded to a Category 2 storm on Friday, was barreling toward the islands at about 16 mph (26 kph), carrying maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155kph), and was expected to affect the islands as early as Sunday.

It was 680 miles (1,095 km) east of Hilo and 870 miles (1,405 km) east of Honolulu, according to the National Weather Service.

"It's raining hard here, but I guess I can expect that the worst of Iselle is over. Now there's Julio to worry about," said Pepeekeo resident Rae Miyashiro, who experienced power outages overnight.

Forecasts showed Julio weakening still further as it nears Hawaii, likely tracking about 150 miles (240 km) north of the archipelago early on Sunday at the earliest, National Weather Service meteorologist Anthony Reynes said.

A red flag flies over at Polo Beach, Wailea, Maui, warning of rip tides August 7, 2014 as the US archipelago of Hawaii, in the Pacific Ocean, prepares for the arrival of Hurricane  Iselle.  The Category 1 Hurricane Iselle picked up strength in the open Pacific as the powerful storm barrelled toward Hawaii.  (AFP)


But even if the storm veers away from the Hawaiian Islands, forecasters said, it could still bring high winds and considerable amounts of rain.

"At the very least it will have a significant impact on surf on north- and east-facing shores - waves could be between 10 and 15 feet or even higher," Reynes said.

In anticipation of the rare back-to-back storms, Hawaii residents have scrambled to stock up on supplies, told by authorities to prepare seven-day disaster supply kits and limit driving.

Hawaii's schools and many stores and offices were closed on Friday, but authorities planned to keep airports open so planes could land in an emergency, although some airlines had canceled flights, officials said.

Oahu has 95,000 visitors, most of them in the Waikiki section of Honolulu, and with hotels full of summer tourists officials ran a special bus service to get hospitality workers to their jobs, despite the closure of other mass transit lines, said Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell.