Residents prepare as hurricane near Hawaii strengthens
HONOLULU — Hawaii residents rushed to grocery stores Tuesday to stock up on bottled water, ramen and toilet paper as they faced the threat of heavy rain, flash flooding and high surf from a powerful and erratic hurricane expected to churn close to the islands or directly over them.
On Tuesday night, the National Weather Service announced that Hurricane Lane had strengthened to become a Category 5 hurricane, which means that it is likely to cause catastrophic damage with winds 157 mph or above. The hurricane is about 500 miles (804 kilometres) southeast of Honolulu.
Earlier Tuesday, the weather service issued a hurricane warning for Hawaii island. A hurricane watch was issued for Oahu, Maui and other smaller islands, meaning tropical storm-force winds, excessive rain and large swells could arrive starting Wednesday.
Hurricane Lane “is forecast to move dangerously close to the main Hawaiian islands as a hurricane later this week, potentially bringing damaging winds and life-threatening flash flooding from heavy rainfall,” the weather service’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center warned as it got closer to the state.