Hurricane Lala threatened Hawaii’s Big Island on Saturday, with a trajectory pointing towards a potential landfall. If it hits, it would be the first direct impact from a hurricane on the island in over 155 years. The National Hurricane Center reported that Lala intensified to a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds reaching 120 km/h. The eyewall was expected to pass over or near the island’s southern tip by evening, bringing its strongest winds to the volcanic slopes thousands of feet above sea level.
Forecasters warned that the higher elevations of the island, notably around the towering Mauna Kea volcano, could receive up to 63.5 centimetres of rainfall, posing a risk of life-threatening mudslides. Residents living in remote mountainous areas, reliant on makeshift housing, were urged to seek safe shelter promptly.
Local resident Bobby Camara, 75, shared his preparations for the storm, mentioning plans to stay put at a care home near Hilo, hoping to avoid power outages. The surge in demand for fuel at gas stations reflected the community’s readiness, with people stocking up on supplies such as chainsaws and gasoline.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green emphasized the severity of the storm, warning of potential destructive flooding and wildfires triggered by strong winds across the island chain. Power outages affected around 10% of customers on the Big Island, according to poweroutage.us.
Residents, like Mike Caputo from Keaau, expressed concerns about flash flooding and fallen trees, particularly the large but fragile albizia trees that could block roads. Caputo, a local fire captain, took precautions by trimming trees in advance to minimize risks.
The Big Island was placed under a hurricane warning, while tropical storm warnings were issued for several other islands in the region. The last hurricane to directly hit the Big Island was a Category 3 storm in 1871. The latest forecasts indicated Lala approaching very close to the island’s southern tip, according to Vanessa Almanza, a meteorologist from the National Weather Service in Honolulu.
With shelters opened and events canceled, authorities advised ranchers to leave cattle in open pastures to avoid collapsed structures. Vanessa Almanza stressed that even without a direct landfall, the storm could cause significant damage. Rainfall projections ranged from 20.3 to 30.5 centimetres across Maui and lower elevations of the Big Island, with 10.2 to 15.2 centimetres expected across the island chain.
State Representative Jeanné Kapela urged residents to take the storm seriously, especially in the remote and rural southern region of the island. Kapela highlighted concerns for those living off the grid, advising them to seek safer accommodations if their homes were not hurricane-ready.
Amidst recovery efforts from recent floods in March, farmers, like Hawaii Farm Bureau director Brian Miyamoto, feared additional damage from the impending storm. Dry and windy conditions outside the storm raised wildfire risks across the islands, as observed during a fire in Lahaina on Maui in 2023.
Reflecting on past disasters, locals remained vigilant, with memories of Hurricane Iniki’s devastation in 1992 on Kauai. Steven Businger, a University of Hawaii atmospheric scientist, emphasized the unpredictability of storms and the importance of preparedness in the face of natural disasters.
