Between Aug. 22 and 26, Hurricane Lane pounded the islands of Hawaii with a reported 52.02 inches of rain, surpassing the state’s previous record and closely approaching the nationwide record. That high total is held by the rainfall seen in Texas during Hurricane Harvey in 2017, which totaled 60.58 inches.
Areas of Hawaii are currently in the process of recovering from the hurricane and officials are busy assessing the total damages caused by the high winds and flash flooding. The Governor of Hawaii, David Ige, signed a supplementary proclamation effective through Oct. 27, 2018, which extends emergency assistance related to Hurricane Lane through that date.
In Papaikou, the Department of Water Supply issued a Water Conservation Notice. According to the DWS, Hurricane Lane’s winds and rains damaged portions of infrastructure, disrupting water service in the area. In the notice, the DWS listed ways to conserve water and asked residents in Papaikou to reduce their daily water usage by 10% so that they can maintain service to all.
As recently as Aug. 28, flash flood warnings were issued for the island of Kauai, advising residents on the north coast to evacuate due to rising stream levels. According to Business Insider, residents like Micco Godinez are still stranded, despite the evacuation notices. Mr. Godinez lives in Hanalei on the north side of Kauai, but he found police vehicles barricading the only road out when he tried to leave for work.
Mr. Godinez says that the small community of Hanalei is isolated, and he expects to be stranded for at least another day. Other communities west of Hanalei are even more isolated, making evacuation a difficult task.
Hawaii’s most populated island is still experiencing Hurricane Lane’s lingering effects as well. The island of Oahu is home to 70% of Hawaii’s 1.4 million residents and the state capital of Honolulu. Oahu still has a flash flood watch in effect, which cautions residents to not travel if they do not have to and to get to higher ground.
With this watch still active, another storm is brewing in the Pacific Ocean. Tropical Storm Miriam is about 2,000 miles to the east of Hawaii and is expected to upgrade to a hurricane by the time it nears the islands. Wind speeds of hurricanes can reach over 160 MPH, so residents are keeping a wary eye on Miriam. The tropical storm is expected to go more northward and dissipate into the colder waters, but as hurricane season continues Hawaii’s residents prepare themselves for whatever could approach their islands.