Honolulu emergency officials “hopeful” for minimal Moke impacts, staying vigilant

News admin August 23, 2026 0 Comments

Honolulu emergency officials “hopeful” for minimal Moke impacts, staying vigilant

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Honolulu emergency officials are monitoring Moke, and while it looks much weaker than Hurricane Lala, they cautioned that even less intense conditions could cause damage.

Honolulu Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Molly Pierce said officials are “hopeful” for minimal impacts, but added they are actively coordinating to ensure resources are in place if needed.

“The ground’s pretty saturated, a lot of trees and roofs and things, they’re pretty unstable, so we may not need impact as strong as the last storm to cause some damage.”

Power outages and road monitoring

Pierce said most power outages from the previous storm have been resolved, but new impacts could affect areas that were already weakened.

“Almost everybody’s back on, but it would only take a little bit to kind of hit some of those trouble spots or somewhere that didn’t go out, but was just barely hanging on,” Pierce said. “It could be pretty easy for wind blown debris to cause some issues there.”

Pierce said the agency is also monitoring rainfall for potential effects on stream levels.

Lessons from Lala

Pierce said the tropical storm’s impact on Oahu reinforced the importance of preparedness among both emergency management and the public.

“We talk about it every year, it’s hurricane season, but it kind of just becomes, I think in a lot of our lives, a talking point, whereas now we’ve seen those power outages, we’ve seen populations being stuck at home or the like,” Pierce said.

Pierce said residents who used emergency supplies during the last storm should replace, recharge and refresh their kits, and obtain any items they found they were lacking.

Safety guidance

Pierce said safety is the first priority for residents who may be affected later Sunday.

“If you are using a generator, please make sure you do so according to the manufacturer guidelines,” Pierce said, adding that generators should not be operated inside a house, in a carport or near windows.

Pierce said residents who live in areas that flood routinely should have a “go bag” packed, and those who may lose power or water or become isolated should have water, food and charged batteries ready.

“We don’t anticipate these impacts to be as strong as the last one, but things are a little more fragile than they were before the last storm, just given all the wind and the rain that we’ve seen,” Pierce said. “So it may not take as much of an actual impact to have a real impact.”