Iselle batters Hawaii, weakens to tropical storm

         
Tropical Storm Iselle battered Hawaii with driving winds and rising surf on Friday, knocking down trees and causing power outages, the first of two major storms due to hit the archipelago as the more powerful Hurricane Julio gathered steam behind it.               

More than 1,200 people flocked to evacuation shelters across the Big Island, according to County of Hawaii Civil Defense, as heavy rains and strong winds pummeled areas of East Hawaii from the Puna area to the town of Hilo.  Hawaii Electric Light Company had about 5,000 customers without power, mostly in East Hawaii, a Hawaii County official said.              

With its eye still about 50 miles (80 km) south of Hilo, on the Big island, Iselle had weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm, packing maximum sustained winds near 70 miles per hour (110 kph), with higher gusts, the U.S. Central Pacific Hurricane Center said in a statement about an hour before midnight on Thursday.          

The storm could still bring waves of up to 25 feet (8 meters) on southeast-facing shores on the Big Island over the next few hours before passing south of the state's smaller islands on Friday, Central Pacific Hurricane Center meteorologist Tom Evans said.              

"With a few hours before the center making landfall we can still see that high surf on the southeast-facing shore of the Big Island," Evans said.            Farther east, Hurricane Julio had gained momentum and was expected to pass just north of Hawaii by late Monday, Evans said.                

That hurricane was upgraded late on Thursday to a Category 3 storm, with maximum sustained winds increasing to near 120 mph (195 kph), the National Hurricane Center said. It was moving west-northwest at 16 mph (26 kph) and was expected to weaken through Saturday.               

In anticipation of the rare back-to-back storms, Hawaii residents scrambled to stock up on supplies as state officials warned of the potential for flash floods, mudslides and power outages in the normally calm tourist haven.                  

Governor Neil Abercrombie signed an emergency proclamation freeing up funds and resources and authorities advised residents to prepare seven-day disaster supply kits and cautioned them against driving except in an emergency.                 

"Everybody knows that a real rough time is coming," Abercrombie told a news conference.                 

Hawaii's schools would be closed on Friday, but authorities planned to keep airports open so planes could land in an emergency although some airlines had canceled flights, officials said. Several shopping malls on Oahu would also be closed.                

Malia Baron, an Oahu resident visiting the Big Island,  known for its volcanoes, black-sand beaches and coffee farms, reported the weather as blustery late on Thursday.                 

"Our power is out again. It's been on and off all evening and we were lucky enough to finish cooking before one of the longer outages," she said.    


REUTERS