At least one person was killed on Hawaii’s Big Island in a storm-related car crash as Hurricane Lala made landfall late Saturday night. Gov. Josh Green confirmed the fatality and reported that 19 roofs were torn from buildings during what he described as an "enormous storm."
Powerful waves crashed onto the Big Island’s coast as Lala moved slowly past. High winds buffeted palm trees, and waterways swelled with fast-moving runoff from intense rainfall. The National Hurricane Center downgraded Lala to a tropical storm by Sunday morning.
More than 130,000 households across Hawaii's three largest islands were without power Sunday morning, according to poweroutage.us. Governor Green stated that at least three hospitals were operating on generator power.
A search-and-rescue operation involving the Civil Defense, National Guard, and Coast Guard was initiated after flash floods reportedly swept several occupied homes off their foundations. These incidents occurred in the coastal communities of Na’alehu and Wai’ohinu, near the island's southern tip, according to Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda. Alameda noted that the rescue efforts were hampered by rushing water, debris, and boulders on the roads in the dark.
As of 2 a.m. Sunday in Hawaii, Lala was located approximately 105 miles west-northwest of Kailua-Kona and about 100 miles south of Honolulu. Tropical-storm-force winds extended up to 175 miles from its center. The storm sustained top winds of 70 mph and was moving northwest at about 15 mph. Forecasters anticipate that Lala may regain hurricane strength by midweek as it moves further west of the island chain.
Officials predict that some higher-altitude areas on the Big Island could receive as much as 35 inches of rain. This amount of rainfall could destabilize steep slopes where some residents live in informal housing.
