Hawaii residents dodged one bullet when Hurricane Iselle weakened before making landfall Friday.
Tropical Storm Iselle was still the first named storm to strike the islands in 22 years.
The storm game ashore around 2:30 a.m. local time just outside of Pahala. The storm carried sustained winds of 60 m.p.h. No deaths or major injuries have been reported so far.
Officials say that heavy rain has been falling on the island of Oahu that has been causing localized flooding. Roadways have been impassible and residents have been told to avoid traveling. Downed trees have blocked the H-1 freeway.
Power is out to large parts of the islands. Officials confirmed at least 21,000 homes are in the dark and the total is likely to climb as the storm continues.
Hurricane Julio, which has strengthened to a Category 3 storm, is now tracking to move just north of the islands but could still bring heavy rain from the outer bands to the areas currently being hit by Iselle.
Hawaii, preparing for the landfall of Hurricane Iselle, was struck with a 4.5 magnitude earthquake Thursday morning.
The quake struck just off the northwest tip of the big island at a depth of 7.9 miles. Hawaiian officials said there were no immediate reports of damage but that surveys were not a priority due to the pending arrival of Hurricane Iselle.
The hurricane is the first of two that could strike the islands before the end of the week. Hurricane Iselle will make landfall on the big island tonight around 8pm local time and Hurricane Julio could hit the islands two days later.
Forecasters say it’s possible that Julio will turn north and only the outer bands of the storm will strike the islands.
Hawaii has not been hit head-on by a hurricane in 22 years. Residents have been stocking up on supplies and boarding up homes. Water is reportedly being sold at multiple times regular price because of shortages throughout the islands.
A Hawaiian court has dismissed the majority of a lawsuit that a pair of anti-Christianists brought against area churches saying they were defrauding local public schools of rental fees.
Mitchell Kahle and Holly Huber had filed a lawsuit claiming that five churches had defrauded school districts by coercing them into lower fees on rents and utility charges by submitting false records.
The complaint filed in the First Circuit Court of Hawaii said the churches owe the government $5.6 million because of discounted rates and for use of the facilities longer than allowed by contracts. The anti-Christian duo filed under the state’s False Claims Act.
Judge Virginia Crandall said that there was insufficient evidence that the churches violated any laws.
The Alliance Defending Freedom, which is representing the churches, says that the churches were facing frivolous claims from people who just want to harass Christians.
“The only thing these churches have done is serve the schools and bring great benefit to their surrounding communities,” ADF Senior Counsel Erik Stanley said in a written statement. “No one benefits from this suit except the two atheists bringing it, who stand to gain financially if they are successful.”
A pipe’s failure led to tons of molasses being dumped into a Hawaii harbor near Honolulu killing all the marine life in its path.
Over 1,400 tons of molasses was released into the ocean creating over 200,000 gallons of sugar water. In addition, the molasses is sinking to the bottom of the ocean and coating the sea floor. Fish and other marine life are unable to escape the sticky substance and die from lack of oxygen. Continue reading →
Hawaii is under tropical storm watches and warnings as Tropical Storm Flossie travels directly toward the islands.
Flossie’s western track is placing this sixth named storm of the Pacific hurricane season on a path to hit the islands head-on. However, forecasters are predicting that cooler water will weaken the storm before it makes landfall on the “big island” of Hawaii. Continue reading →
