Hawaii prepares for hurricane; Countries tighten COVID-19 restrictions
- by Lorene Schwartz
- in People
- — Jul 29, 2020
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 40 miles (65 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles (185 km).
Robert Ballard, science and operations officer for the Central Pacific Hurricane Center, on Monday told Hawaii Public Radio that the islands missed a direct hit by a "razor thin" margin that could have easily closed because hurricanes do not move in a straight line.
"We know that things are going to get wet, things are going to blow and things are going to slide", Meyers said.
While the storm weakened Saturday to a Category 1 hurricane as it came closer to Hawaii, officials have warned residents against feeling too confident.
A hurricane warning is in effect for Maui County, Kauai County and Oahu, and a tropical storm warning is in effect for Hawaii County.
The NWS said parts of Maui would feel the first impacts of Douglas on Sunday morning, followed by Oahu about midday and Kauai and Niihau in the evening.
On Sunday, the hurricane was expected to bring along sustained winds of 140 kph (85 mph).
Sirens blared on Maui on Sunday morning as palm trees swayed in the wind and white-cap waves crashed against the island's shores, video aired on local television showed.
The storm was gradually weakening on Saturday, but officials said that shouldn't lull anyone into complacency.
Hourihane wants Villa to build on final day survival
Smith has remained calm throughout Villa's struggles this season after leading them to promotion via the play-offs a year ago .
At the same time, each shelter will have less capacity because of the physical distancing requirements to prevent the spread of the disease, and more shelters (and workers) will be needed to accommodate people.
It is now 780 kilometres east of Hilo, Hawaii.
President Trump approved Hawaii's emergency declaration on Saturday.
A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, in this case within the next 18 hours. Diane Peters-Nguyen put out a call for others who might be able to help. Those people say they would shelter-in-place, instead of traveling to a shelter.
Hawaii is one of the states in the U.S. with the lowest COVID-19 infection rates, although those numbers have been on the rise in recent weeks.
As of Saturday evening, July 25. the National Weather Service in Honolulu says Douglas remains a category 1 hurricane and the current track puts O'ahu facing a hurricane warning with forecasters tracking the storm's sustained winds of 90 miles per hour. Total rain accumulations of 3 to 6 inches with locally higher amounts are possible, with the greatest rainfall in elevated terrain. Every day since Thursday, Hawaii has reported record highs of newly confirmed cases, including 73 on Saturday.
Hawaiian Airlines canceled all Sunday flights in between Hawaii and the USA mainland and likewise in between the other islands.
Oahu, home to the state's largest city, Honolulu, has been placed under a hurricane warning. The last major hurricane to strike the state was Hurricane Iniki in 1992, which hit Kauai and caused massive damage across the island. More than 41 per cent of the island's homes were damaged or destroyed by the storm.
