Hurricane Lane - LIVE: FEMA preparing for landslides and inland flooding ahead of storm making landfall
'Life threatening impacts are likely in some areas as the hurricane makes its closest approach,' National Weather Service warns
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Hurricane Lane is threatening a direct hit on Hawaii and could become the most powerful storm to reach the archipelago in a quarter of a century.
Schools, governments and businesses have closed while residents stocked up on food, water and other supplies and boarded up homes.
The hurricane, classified as a powerful Category 4 storm, was packing sustained winds of up to 145mph (230 km/h) and could dump as much as 20in of rain over parts of the US Pacific island state, triggering flash flooding and landslides, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned.
Additional reporting by agencies
The latest update from Hawaii's governor, David Ige, with a map showing when Hurricane Lane is expected to make landfall.
An official said the Federal Emergency Management Agency is prepared with several barges with food, water and supplies for Hawaii.
The federal agency moved the supplies into the region ahead of Hurricane Hector, which skirted past the islands more than a week ago.
FEMA's administrator, Brock Long, said the agency has had a team on Hawaii's Big Island for months after Kilauea volcano began erupting.
Pictures and video taken by Ricky Arnold, a Nasa astronaut on the International Space Station, show the sheer scale of Hurricane Lane as it looms off the coast of Hawaii.
US Navy ships and submarines based in Hawaii have been instructed to leave port, a common practice as a hurricane approaches, to avoid damage.
As of 11pm (9am GMT on Thursday), the storm was centered 235 miles (380km) south-southwest of Kailua-Kona, the national weather service said.
The outer bands of the storm were already dumping 1-3in an hour of rain on parts of the Big Island as the eastern side of the island was under a flash flood warning, Gavin Shigesato, a NWS meteorologist, told Reuters.
The shelves of a downtown Honolulu Walmart were stripped of items ranging from canned tuna to dog food, Reuters reports.
Shoppers jostled with one another to get the last boxes of ramen noodles.
"There's nothing in there," said one shopper leaving the store.
City residents used carts to push cases of bottled water and coolers full of ice, after warnings of possible power outages and evacuations.
Cars waited in long lines at gasoline stations in Honolulu and people could be seen pulling small boats from the water ahead of Lane's expected storm surge.
"I went to Safeway last night for regular groceries, everyone was in a panic," said Thao Nguyen, 35, an employee at a Honolulu branch of Hawaiian shirt retailer Roberta Oaks.
"People were buying cases of tiny water bottles.
As emergency shelters opened, rain began to pour and cellphone alerts went out, the approaching hurricane started to feel real for Hawaii residents.
"Everyone is starting to buckle down at this point," Christyl Nagao of Kauai island told the Associated Press.
"Our families are here. We have businesses and this and that. You just have to man your fort and hold on tight."
Melanie Davis, who lives in a suburb outside Honolulu, said she was gathering canned food and baby formula.
"We're getting some bags of rice and of course, some Spam," she said of the canned lunch meat that's popular in Hawaii.
She was organising important documents into a folder — birth and marriage certificates, Social Security cards, insurance paperwork — and making sure her three children, all under 4, have flotation devices such as swimming vests — "just in case."
Chevy Chevalier, a meteorologist, told the Associated Press that Hurricane Lane may drop to a Category 3 storm by Thursday afternoon but said it would still be a major hurricane.
"We expect it to gradually weaken as it gets closer to the islands," Mr Chevalier said.
"That being said, on our current forecast, as of the afternoon on Thursday, we still have it as a major hurricane."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments