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Lala’s storm impacts
Tropical Storm Lala continued to bring damaging winds and heavy rains across Hawaii after skirting past the Big Island as a hurricane overnight, with at least one person dying in a car accident in the southernmost point of the Big Island, officials said.
“At least one person died in a car accident in the southernmost point of the Big Island”
CBS News reported that Lala’s eyewall brushed the southern portion of the Big Island around 4 p.m. Saturday, and that the storm weakened back to a tropical storm as it continued moving west while remaining south of the smaller main Hawaiian Islands on Sunday.
The BBC said the storm still dumped up to 35in (89cm) of rain in places and left one person dead in a car accident, even though it skirted Big Island without making landfall.
The National Hurricane Center warned that Lala was expected to weaken throughout the day into Monday but would still pack a punch, while forecasters also warned of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain.
Power outages and warnings
More than 222,000 homes were without power across the state, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us, as the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency reported reports of downed trees and power lines across the Big Island.
The BBC said tropical storm warnings remained in effect for all eight of Hawaii's major islands, even after Lala’s winds decreased to near 65mph, and it described the eyewall howling within 30 miles (48km) of Big Island's South Point overnight.
AP News said a search-and-rescue mission including Civil Defense, the National Guard and a Coast Guard helicopter was launched after flash floods apparently swept several occupied homes off their foundations in the coastal communities of Na’alehu and Wai’ohinu, near the Big Island’s southern tip.
In Honolulu, the NPR account said the state’s National Weather Service meteorologist Stephen Parker warned that heavy rain, mudslides, downed trees, active flooding and downed power lines were among the biggest threats, and urged residents to “stay home for a bit longer.”
What comes next
Forecasters said tropical storm conditions would persist across portions of the Big Island on Sunday and spread westward from Maui County to Oahu and then to Kauai County later in the day, with tropical storm warnings in effect for Maui County and Kauai County.
“maximum storm totals of 30 to 35 inches”
The BBC reported that Lala was expected to produce additional rainfall of 4 to 8 inches across the Big Island and windward Maui, with maximum storm totals of 30 to 35 inches, while the rest of the island chain could expect a total rainfall of 4 to 6 inches.
CNN said the National Hurricane Center warned of dangerous floods, mudslides and storm surges that could rise up to two feet on Oahu and Kauai, and it noted that a flash flood warning was still in effect for Oahu.
As Lala moved west, the National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said in an update that as of 8 a.m. Sunday in Hawaii, Lala was centered about 65 miles (105 kilometers) southwest of Honolulu and moving northwest at about 14 mph (22 kph), with conditions across Kauai expected to deteriorate during the day.
