Hawaii Island prepares once again for another storm
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – It’s obvious that it has been a busy hurricane season so far here in Hawaii.
Now, half way through it all, yet another storm is churning dangerously close to the Big Island and that has county officials on high alert again.
“The forecast is calling for more rain, and in particular in flood-prone areas like the Kau District, but this event could also go all the way up through Puna, Hilo, and into Hamakua,” said Acting Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira. “We’re very sensitive and concerned with the Kahu District because we have recovery efforts that are still underway.”
It was just a few weeks ago that Hurricane Lala made her mark on Hawaii Island. Many are still recovering from the effects of that storm.
Now there is a possibility that residents will also have to deal with a new problem that may have been created by Lala.
“We have what appears to be maybe some new water flow paths that were carved by Hurricane Lala, with the amount of rainfall that we had, and some of the runoff and water flow that took place, as well as the debris that was pushed,” Oliveira said.
Oliveira adds along with Hawaii County assets, Hawaii National Guard personnel and equipment are already on the ground helping with the cleanup in response to Hurricane Lala.
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He says a request has been made to repurpose the current mission and extend it to respond to what might happen next.
“That includes these high-wheeled vehicles that can access areas that might be experiencing some flooding safely,” Oliveira said. “So, again, we’ve asked for that, I want to say, support and assistance from the Guard, and received that word this morning when we made the request that, yes, they will support that mission.”
For now, Oliveira on behalf of Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda are asking all Hawaii Island residents to be hyper-vigilant and to take care of one another.
“It’s still very early, but so far the forecast is calling for some heavy rains potentially coming through starting tomorrow afternoon, and possibly through the weekend,” Oliveira said.
Oliveira adds now is that time to use what was learned from the past to prepare for what’s next.
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