Hilo - Heavy rains hit parts of Hawaii and strong waves pummelled
shorelines as a downgraded yet potent Pacific storm passed near the island
state.
Though
Tropical Storm Madeline was no longer a hurricane, the weather's uncertainty
couldn't let Hawaii's Big Island relax.
There
were periods of intense rainfall on Wednesday as the National Weather Service
downgraded Madeline, with winds falling below hurricane strength of 119 km/h.
Wind
speed diminished steadily throughout the day and by 23:00, they were swirling
at 80 km/h. Forecasters said continued weakening was expected.
Madeline's
centre was about 322 km south of Hilo and
moving west-southwest and away from the state at 23 km/h. Though the storm was
not predicted to make landfall on any Hawaiian island, the Big Island and Maui
County remained under tropical storm warnings because of threats from wind and
rain.
Strong
winds were gusting on Oahu as a series of bright blue flashes lit up the night
sky above Honolulu. The power went off in the hillside neighbourhood but the lights in most of downtown Honolulu remained
on. There was no rain accompanying the blustery weather and only scattered
clouds whizzed by overhead.
On the
Big Island, waves crashed into a seawall that surrounds Liliuokalani Gardens
Park at Hilo Bay. Water accumulated on the grass of the gardens, leaving stairs
of a pavilion partially submerged.
"That
heavy rainfall is interspersed with sunny patches," said Kanani Aton,
spokesperson for Hawaii County Civil Defence.
Prepare for more rain
Officials
said residents should continue to be prepared for more rain, strong winds and
high surf overnight. The rainfall may lead to dangerous flash floods and
mudslides, the weather service warned.
"It
doesn't matter if it's a strong tropical storm or a category 1 hurricane,"
said Eric Lau, a meteorologist with the weather service. "If you have 112
km/h winds versus 120km/h winds, it's still a strong storm, so residents still
need to be prepared."
Meanwhile,
Hurricane Lester was about 2 600 km/h from Hawaii and expected to drop to
a tropical storm by Sunday.
Earlier
on Wednesday, merchants boarded up shop windows along Hilo Bay and shoppers
snatched supplies of food and water from grocery store shelves after initially
being told the island could be hit by its first hurricane in a quarter-century.
"We
are not out of the woods," Aton said. "At this point, it is still a powerful storm, and we are
working to remind the public to be storm ready."
Elsewhere,
a tropical storm warning was issued early on Thursday for a section of the US
East Coast as Tropical Storm Hermine approached Florida from the Gulf of
Mexico.
The
warning covered an area that extends from Marineland, Florida, northward to the
South Santee River in South Carolina. A hurricane warning was already in effect
for a section of Florida's Gulf coast from the Suwanne
River to Mexico Beach.
The US
National Hurricane Center said Hermine was expected to become a hurricane by
the time it makes landfall on Florida's coast on Thursday night or early
Friday.
Stocking up before the storm
In Hawaii, Peggy Beckett, a retiree and beekeeper, stopped at a
Hilo supermarket to pick up onion bagels, cheese, cold cuts and salad to add to
her canned food at home. She also has a cooler with ice plus a portable burner
and batteries to get her through the storm.
Noting
the lines of people at the market, Beckett said people were getting prepared
but weren't panicking.
"There's
always a lot of disbelief on the island that the storms will really be as big
and bad as forecast," she said, noting that she and her partner had taken
precautions to protect their beehives.
Employees
boarded up windows at Hulakai Store, a surf shop in Hilo. "We'll probably
keep it up until Sunday, waiting for the
second one to come through," said supervisor Renee Balanga.
Governor
David Ige has issued an emergency proclamation for both storms, allowing the
state to quickly spend money.
The
Hawaiian islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe were under a tropical
storm watch, but there were no alerts for Oahu or Kauai.
