Hurricane Lala leaves thousands without power in Hawaii amid 'life-threatening' conditions

Hurricane Lala is battering Hawaii with strong winds and heavy rains, leaving more than 40,000 utility customers without power across the islands. The National Hurricane Center has issued stark warnings of "life-threatening" conditions, including significant flooding and mudslides, especially in the state's mountainous regions.

As of Saturday afternoon, the poweroutage.com website reported 42,889 customers in the dark, with the Big Island experiencing the brunt of the outages (31,792 customers) followed by Maui County (7,203 customers). The hurricane center forecasts between 10 to 20 inches of rain on the Big Island, with a possibility of up to 25 inches, while eastern Maui could see 8 to 12 inches and western Maui 4 to 6 inches. Hawaiian Electric has alerted customers to expect "possible extended outages, potentially overnight."

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This rainfall will produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain.

The storm's impact is visible across the islands. Utility crews are assessing damage to transmission lines on the Big Island's Hamakua Coast after fallen trees downed multiple poles. Hurricane Lala, with maximum sustained winds reaching 75 mph, prompted the closure of Hilo International Airport and the impending closure of Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole. Commercial ports on the Big Island, Maui County, and Kaua‘i are also shut down. Wind gusts exceeding 100 mph were recorded on the Maunakea peak, indicating the storm's intensity.

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possible extended outages, potentially overnight.