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Lala kills one in Hawaii
Lala missed a direct landfall but still brought floods, landslides, power cuts and one death to Hawaii.
What happened
Hurricane Lala passed south of Hawaii’s Big Island without landfall, then weakened to a tropical storm as it moved west. Heavy rain, flooding and mudslides damaged homes and roads, while strong winds cut power. One person died in a car accident in the South Point area.
Numbers
- 32 inchesRainfall recorded in some locations
- 200,000 householdsHouseholds left without electricity
- More than 100Properties swept from foundations
Questions
- Why was there damage without landfall?
- The storm’s eyewall passed close to the island, allowing heavy rain to run down mountainsides and trigger flash flooding and mudslides.
- Why were higher areas especially exposed?
- Forecasters warned that winds on mountain tops and slopes could be substantially stronger than the surface winds used to rate storms.
- Why was a direct hit notable?
- A direct strike would have been Hawaii’s first hurricane landfall in more than a century and a half, according to forecasters.
- Which places remained under warning?
- Tropical-storm warnings remained across all major islands as Lala moved westward, extending the threat beyond the Big Island.
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The catch
Coverage differs on wind and rainfall measurements, and the final toll and damage assessment remain incomplete.