One death linked to Tropical Storm Lala as more than 100,000 remain without power in Hawaii
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HONOLULU (AP) -- Thousands were without power Monday after Tropical Storm Lala uprooted trees from downtown Honolulu to the Big Island, where intense flash-flooding and strong winds isolated already-remote communities.
In the hard-hit southern end of the Big Island, communities were isolated as they were cut off from communication and roads were blocked by debris. Floodwaters disturbed some grave sites.
Officials announced one fatality blamed on the storm -- a 90-year-old woman who had been reported missing in Naalehu and then found dead on Monday. Additional details about the death weren't immediately available.
Lala weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm Sunday after lashing the state without making landfall. Intense rainfall and flooding caused a muddy mess as the storm moved past Hawaii's main islands.
The flooding proved to be more destructive than the wind, said Gov. Josh Green, who flew over and walked through the south part of the island Monday.
"It's the flood and the mud and the rock the poured through Naalehu, Pahala, Waiohinu," he said. "These communities have a lot of cleanup to do and they're going to need a lot of support."
The storm was projected to continue moving westward and was forecast to become a hurricane again at sea and far from land by Wednesday.
Public schools statewide, some private schools and state offices were closed Monday. Schools and county offices on the Big Island will remain closed Tuesday. Cleanup efforts began in earnest with crews repairing bridges and clearing fallen trees.
The Hawaiian Electric utility said nearly 104,000 customers were without power as of Monday afternoon. The passing storm's strong winds took down trees, utility poles and transmission towers. The Big Island's power transmission system suffered "extensive damage," the utility said.
The 911 emergency service number was temporarily out of service on the Big Island because hurricane impacts were affecting radio and telephone communications, the Hawaii Police Department said, but was back up by the afternoon.
"My district is in shambles," said state Rep. Jeanne Kapela, who represents the Kau district on the southern end of the island. Her voice quivered with emotion as she described communities trapped by collapsed and debris-blocked roads, including the small community of Punaluu, home to about 100 households and popular among tourists for its black-sand beach.