Post by sky on Jul 31, 2013 17:04:53 GMT 12
July 30, 2013 – HAWAII - A flood advisory remains in effect for Hawaii Island at least through 6:15 p.m. as the brunt of Tropical Storm Flossie moved past Hilo and East Hawaii and began pestering Kailua-Kona and West Hawaii with heavy rains and high winds. The lower Puna and Kau areas appeared to be the most badly hit portions of East Hawaii. The Hawaii Police Department reported fallen trees on Highway 132, the Pahoa-Kapoho Highway in the area of Lava Tree State Park. The highway was closed around noon but reopened about 2:30, Hawaii County Civil Defense officials said. More than 6,000 customers of the Hawaii Electrical Light Co., mostly from Volcano to Pahoa, lost power after high winds knocked down power lines in various areas of Puna, said Kristin Okinaka, HELCO deputy corporate communications officer. At the peak there were about 6,300 homes and businesses without power, according to Hawaii Electric Light Co. That included 2,800 customers from Volcano to Glenwood, 2,200 customers from Kalapana to Nanawale and 1,300 in Panaewa. Power was restored to some areas, and by mid-afternoon there were 5,000 customers without power, HELCO reported. Power has since been restored to about 500 customers, but HELCO crews are still working on the rest of the outages, Okinaka said about 3:45 p.m. Portions of Kona and Kohala began feeling the brunt of the storm about mid-afternoon. –Star Advertiser
Flights canceled from Alaska: Alaska Airlines has canceled more than two dozen flights to and from Hawaii Monday, in response to Tropical Storm Flossie’s approach to the islands overnight Sunday. Bobbie Egan, a spokesperson for the airline, says morning flights to and from Hawaii through 2 p.m. Pacific Time have been canceled Monday. “Due to the tropical storm, Flossie, we’ve had to cancel 26 flights,” Egan said. None of the affected flights are out of early evening hours onward — about 8 p.m. Pacific time onward — should continue on schedule. Operations at the Lihue airport on Kauai may be affected past that point due to a lack of airport staff there. -KTUU
Flights canceled from Alaska: Alaska Airlines has canceled more than two dozen flights to and from Hawaii Monday, in response to Tropical Storm Flossie’s approach to the islands overnight Sunday. Bobbie Egan, a spokesperson for the airline, says morning flights to and from Hawaii through 2 p.m. Pacific Time have been canceled Monday. “Due to the tropical storm, Flossie, we’ve had to cancel 26 flights,” Egan said. None of the affected flights are out of early evening hours onward — about 8 p.m. Pacific time onward — should continue on schedule. Operations at the Lihue airport on Kauai may be affected past that point due to a lack of airport staff there. -KTUU