Tropical Storm Moke advances towards Hawaii with heavy rain, strong winds

What the report says

Hawaii is preparing for Tropical Storm Moke, which was moving toward the islands on Saturday and was expected to pass south of Hawaii Island overnight into the following morning, according to Al Jazeera’s report citing the U.S. National Hurricane Center and local officials. The storm brought strong winds and heavy rain, arriving only days after the region dealt with Hurricane Lala, which weakened after leaving widespread flooding and outages.

At the time reported, Moke was about 684 kilometres south of Hilo on Hawaii Island and traveling west-northwest. The National Hurricane Center said its sustained winds were around 85km/h. Forecasters said the Big Island was not expected to take a direct hit, but impacts were still likely, especially on windward and southeast areas. Rainfall totals of 130mm to 250mm over two days were projected for parts of the island, with isolated totals potentially reaching 380mm. Eastern Maui was also expected to see significant rain.

State officials urged residents to stock up on food, medicine and other essentials before the storm’s arrival. Governor Josh Green said the state was positioning equipment and personnel and had authorized hotel rooms for people who might need shelter or safer conditions. He also noted that some remote areas were still without power after Lala, with full restoration expected by September 8.

The article said Lala had already caused more than 1,000mm of rain in some locations, river flooding and nearly 130,000 power outages, underscoring how repeated storm systems are straining recovery efforts across the island chain.