Hawaii Prepares For The Potentially Strongest Hurricane In Decades

As hurricane Lane continues on its way towards Hawaii, its residents are preparing for what could be the worst storm to hit their state in decades. The National Walther Service downgraded Lane into a category four storm on Wednesday, but that still means strong winds of up to 110 miles per hour.

The Hawaii Governor David Ige proclaimed a state of emergency on Wednesday, and the NWS has warned that a potentially deadly flash flooding and mudslides from the rain. Local officials warn residents of areas prone to flooding to evacuate to shelters.

The NWS issued a hurricane warning for parts of the Big Island on Wednesday morning. Projections show that the storm drawing closer to the island by Friday morning with Kauai and Oahu on its path. The most devastating storm on record to hit Hawaii was Hurricane Iniki in 1992 that past over Hawaii and did a nearly 3 bl. dollars’ worth of damage.

With an estimated 1.5 million people in Hawaii and highly valuable property, Hurricane Lane has the potential to do a great deal of damage.

Models predict the 130 mph hurricane will make landfall between Thursday and Friday, bringing with it torrential downpours and dangerous winds. Even with Hurricane Lane not making landfall, the wide extent of the hurricane can still cause significant destruction.

Hurricanes are very strong winds, the speed of which exceeds 120 kilometers per hour. If the speed of the wind reaches 180 kilometers, then the hurricane is considered very strong. You can often hear that a hurricane is called "tropical" but this has nothing to do with the tropics. The name comes from the place they are formed over - the tropics. Tropical cyclones that arise over the Pacific Ocean are often called typhoons. They are accompanied by a low-pressure area. Hurricanes that appearing over the Atlantic Ocean are often called cyclones. Neotropical hurricanes can occur elsewhere on the planet, but the reason for their occurrence is the same: the difference in temperature and atmospheric pressure in different layers of the atmosphere. The most dangerous are those hurricanes which form near the coast. They, sweeping at a furious speed, are able to level down entire cities out of their way. Despite the rapid development of technology and the existence of meteorological instruments for tracing, hurricanes remain a force of nature that man cannot prevent and can only predict and follow with unsatisfactory accuracy. The aftermaths of hurricanes are human casualties, a ruined economy, and destroyed cities.

It seems that this year Hawaii residents are under a lot of stress. It was only a few months ago when some islands needed to evacuate after Kilauea Volcano erupted.

Officials in Hawaii then issued an evacuation order for the Leilani Estates community on the Big Island after vent began spewing lava following the eruption of the Kilauea volcano earlier on May 3. This footage shows a glimpse of the lava stream from near the Leilani Estates. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that a mandatory evacuation was in effect for Leilani Estates residents from Luana Street to Mohala Street. Earlier on Thursday, a column of smoke and ash rose from the Kilauea volcano following a 5.0 magnitude earthquake that rattled the island.