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Hawaii residents strapped in and forecasters warned of “life-threatening impacts” for the arrival overnight of what could turn out to be the strongest hurricane to hit the islands in a quarter-century.
Hurricane Lane was straddling the line between category 4 and category 5 as it headed west-northwest through the Pacific on course for the main Hawaiian Islands. At 5 p.m. ET, it was pushing sustained winds of 155 mph after having stepped into category 5 territory — 157 mph — earlier in the day.
The last category 5 storm to even come close to Hawaii was Hurricane John in 1994, which skirted 345 miles south of the islands. The last severely damaging hurricane was Iniki, a category 4 storm that killed six people in September 1992.
“Lane is a dangerous storm that will impact Hawaii,” said Jeff Byard, a senior response and recovery administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. “The time to act is now.”
Cathy Shanks, 65, of Lihue on the big island of Hawaii, said in a telephone interview that she and her family learned their lesson during Iniki.
“We don’t take hurricane warnings or watches lightly, and we want to make sure we’re prepared,” she said Wednesday.
The center of the storm was expected to move very close or over parts of the islands and linger there from Thursday through Saturday.
Hurricane conditions — which could include torrential rains, high winds, tornadoes, lightning and flooding from high surf — were expected to develop in southeastern coastal waters late Wednesday night, the National Weather Service’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center said.
“Regardless of the exact track of the storm center, life-threatening impacts are likely over some areas as this strong hurricane makes its closest approach,” the hurricane center said.
Noting that Lane was moving very slowly, at just 8 mph, Oahu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon: “The rain will be heavy and longer, the wind will be longer in duration and we could have floods.”
“We’re planning for the worst and hoping for the best,” he said.
FEMA was pre-positioning barges, supplies and more than 150 staffers in the state, and schools across the state will be closed Thursday and Friday.
“We don’t know where this storm will hit,” said Gov. David Ige, who issued an emergency proclamation to speed the state’s response. “Everyone should be prepared.”
But that could be difficult for thousands of Hawaii residents, said Tom Travis, administrator of the state’s Emergency Management Agency.