Hurricane Lala brings flooding to Hawaii; one dead

Aug. 16 (UPI) — Hurricane Lala weakened to a tropical storm Sunday morning after bringing flooding to the Hawaiian islands, killing one person, local officials said.

Hawaiian Gov. Josh Green said a storm-related car crash caused the fatality on the Big Island. The crash also injured two other people Saturday night. He said the storm also caused 19 buildings to lose their roofs.

Hurricane Lala, a Category 1 storm, didn’t make direct landfall on the islands, but the eyeball came within about 30 miles of the Big Island on Saturday evening, the National Hurricane Center said. Lala weakened to a tropical storm, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, around 2 a.m.

Strong winds and heavy rain caused at least 126,000 customers to lose power, resulting in about 70% of the Big Island having no power, CNN reported.

In addition to damaging winds, Lala dropped up to 2.5 inches of rain per hour across the islands, prompting flash flooding and streams to rise quickly. While the government didn’t order any official evacuations, about 130 people relocated to shelters in the Big Island’s Hawaii County, The New York Times reported.

While Tropical Storm Lala was moving away from the islands Sunday, heavy rain was expected through the day. A flash flood warning was in effect for Oahu and Maui islands.

Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda, in an update Sunday, said “several occupied homes may have been swept off their foundations, and based on that, civil defense has initiated a search and rescue mission.”