Storm Could Cause ‘Catastrophic Flooding’ in Hawaii, Forecasters Warn

A seasonal cyclone is expected to inundate Hawaii with dense rainfall though Tuesday afternoon, with the imaginable for “catastrophic flooding,” landslides and wide powerfulness outages passim the islands, the National Weather Service said.

The cyclone is simply a benignant of tempest called a kona low, which typically stall, driblet ample amounts of rainfall successful 1 determination and travel from a southerly direction, bringing moisture to areas that bash not usually get overmuch rainfall, the work said.

But fixed the immense expanse of the Pacific Ocean, it is uncommon for a kona debased to stall straight implicit the Hawaiian islands, arsenic 1 is doing this week, meteorologists said.

“This is an utmost upwind event,” said Adam Weintraub, a spokesperson for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.

As of aboriginal Monday morning, parts of Maui had already received astir 11 inches of rain, “a unsafe amount,” according to David Roth, a meteorologist with the Weather Service.

That information is expected to heighten, officials said, arsenic rainfall totals could scope 10 to 15 inches crossed the authorities by Tuesday, with isolated areas seeing up to 25 inches, according to the service.

Already, the cyclone was causing disruptions. On Sunday nighttime connected Maui, the Kahului Airport experienced a powerfulness outage, and respective roads were closed overnight, Mr. Weintraub said.

On Monday morning, officials crossed the authorities were bracing for flooding.

All the islands were connected a flood watch connected Monday, respective nationalist schools canceled classes and the politician of Hawaii, David Ige, warned residents connected Twitter, “now is the clip to marque definite you person an exigency program successful spot and supplies acceptable should you request to determination distant from rising water.”

The politician of Hawaii County, Mitchell Roth, declared a state of emergency connected Sunday, allowing authorities agencies to mobilize and petition assistance from the national authorities successful the lawsuit of a disaster.

About 9,000 radical successful Hawaii were without powerfulness connected Monday morning, according to poweroutage.us, a website that tracks powerfulness failures. State officials were anticipating that fig to summation passim the day.

The eastbound sections of the state, including the cities of Keaau and Hilo, could acquisition the heaviest rainfall connected Monday, Mr. Weintraub said. The cyclone is expected to displacement westward connected Monday nighttime and aboriginal Tuesday morning, the Weather Service said.

Officials are preparing for “fast h2o rescues” successful importantly flooded areas, Mr. Weintraub said.

Because “everything runs off” easy from the slick volcanic rocks of Hawaii’s earthy geography, including lava and water, flooding could beryllium terrible successful parts of the islands, said Mr. Roth, the meteorologist.

“For areas that are volcanic, you’re dealing with steep slopes, particularly successful places wherever radical are surviving adjacent the basal of them — truthful yeah, that’s a problem,” helium said.

The Weather Service said that “numerous” landslides were expected successful areas with steep terrain.

“Debris successful streams and gulches whitethorn clog bridges and culverts resulting successful unsafe flooding,” the work said. It besides said that isolated highways and municipality areas, particularly connected Oahu, could besides person terrible flooding.

Meteorologists warned residents to debar walking oregon driving done floodwaters connected Monday and Tuesday.

The tempest strategy besides brought snowfall to the Big Island summits, which emergence to good implicit 11,000 feet. But meteorologists said that was not an uncommon elevation for snowfall to fall, adjacent connected a tropical land — and that the rainfall was a overmuch much important concern.

“I interest that 1 of our societal media posts made everyone absorption connected the blizzard alternatively than the rain, which is precisely the aforesaid system,” Mr. Roth said.