HONOLULU, the United States, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Hurricane Lane, downgraded to Category 3 storm, moved north toward the main Hawaiian Islands with extreme flooding from Thursday night to Friday morning.
The hurricane packed punch with maximum sustained winds near 120 MPH with higher gusts, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center, the national oceanic and atmospheric administration, adding rainfall rates in the outer bands of the hurricane may reach 1 to 3 inches per hour.
Till Friday morning, the heavy rain delivered by the storm led to road closures, landslides and outrages.
"The slow movement of Lane also greatly increase the threat for prolonged heavy rainfall and extreme rainfall totals," said the Central Pacific Hurricane Center.
Lane is expected to remain a hurricane for the next 12 to 24 hours but increasing wind shear could weaken the storm more quickly over the next two to three days.
The storm is forecast to pull away from Hawaii by late Saturday. Over 1,500 people have sought shelter and more are expected to do so, American Red Cross officials told ABC news channel Friday.
Before the rough winds and torrential rain set in, Hawaiian residents and visitors flocked to stores to stock up on food, water and gas.
Officials recommend a 14-day emergency supply. Some local people went to supermarkets to store some foods and drinking water.
"Alarm system is very helpful," Jeff Keegan, who is from Connecticut, told Xinhua, "I prepare well so I'm not worry about the hurricane at all."
There are 300,000 tourists in the state, Senator of the state Mazie Hirono said Thursday.
The Consulate General of China in Los Angeles issued a warning Wednesday, asking Chinese tourists to follow directions of local authority to keep safety.
There is no chaos happened under the hurricane warning. In the Waikiki beach, one of the most popular place for tourists in Honolulu downtown area, people continued to go out to shop, drink coffee and to walk around the beach in the daytime.
All campuses and offices of the university of Hawaii on Hawaii Island, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu and Kauai are closed through Sunday. There will be no mail delivery and no public transportation on Friday.
The U.S. President Donald Trump had authorized an emergency disaster declaration to provide Hawaii the necessary support ahead of the hurricane lane.
Ryan Fleming, a student at the university of Hawaii, said that he is not so concerned about the hurricane. "I do some preparation just in case it (hurricane) becomes serious."
Michael Dufresne, also a student, stayed at room and played cards with his friends. "I'm from Florida. In past few year, there was no such big warning here like today." he said.
