Lava and now a hurricane?
As if one natural disaster wasn’t enough, Mother Nature is threatening to provide another round of heavy rains and wind as Tropical Storm Ana gains strength southeast of the Big Island.
The storm could become a hurricane by Wednesday and is forecast to continue on a northwest track toward the island through Saturday morning.
While forecasts that far out are subject to change, the storm has the potential to cause more trouble for island residents, especially those living in lower Puna, which took the brunt of Tropical Storm Iselle in August and still is dealing with the ongoing threat of the June 27 lava flow.
“It’s very overwhelming and stressful,” said Pahoa resident Tasha Bissell. “We’re wondering when we can get a break from all of this and get back to normal.”
Tom Evans, National Weather Service meteorologist, cautioned forecasts beyond three days come with a high level of uncertainty.
“It could be well to the east of the Big Island or well to the south” by Saturday, he said.
As of 5 a.m. Tuesday, Ana was 945 miles east-southeast of Kailua-Kona with sustained winds of 50 mph. It was moving northwest at about 5 mph.
Hawaii County Civil Defense staff will begin knocking on doors in low-lying communities that could be most vulnerable, including Kapoho, Punaluu, and King’s Landing in Hilo, as early as today to warn residents of the approaching storm, said Administrator Darryl Oliveira.
“One of the valuable lessons we learned from Iselle is people may not be aware of what’s happening outside their own communities,” he said.
If the storm does cause significant or widespread damage, Oliveira said his staff will continue to monitor the lava flow as it approaches Pahoa.
The flow was 1.3 miles from Pahoa Village Road as of Monday. Lava was still advancing slowly and the flow is not expected to prompt an evacuation before or while the storm passes through or around the island.
“Obviously, we will be working on hazards based on life, safety (priorities) first,” Oliveira said.
The key, he added, is if “we have multiple incidents going on, not to lose focus and forget one over the other.”
If lava overflights can’t occur because of weather, Oliveira said observations would be taken from the ground.
Evacuation notices for the lava flow also would be done door-to-door whether residents have electricity or not, he said.
It’s unclear, though, how the storm could impact construction of an alternate route on Chain of Craters Road.
If the storm reaches hurricane strength, it would be the fifth hurricane this year near Hawaii, Evans said.
The Hilo area also received heavy rains, thunder and lightning Monday and a fresh blanket of snow could be seen on Mauna Kea.
Hilo International Airport recorded 0.26 inches of rain as of 1:53 p.m.
Sporadic power outages also were reported, according to a Hawaii Electric Light Co. spokeswoman.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.