Residents of Hawaii were bracing for a rare landfall by a powerful hurricane as they stocked up on water, food and emergency supplies.
Hurricane Lane, which weakened slightly to a category 4 storm overnight yesterday, is packing 155-mile-per-hour winds and is expected to reach the archipelago's Big Island by nightfall.
President Donald Trump, in a tweet, urged residents to prepare for the storm, which is expected to bring torrential rains, high winds and dangerous surf. "Everyone in the path of #HurricaneLane please prepare yourselves, heed the advice of State and local officials, and follow @NWSHonolulu for updates. Be safe!" he said.
The National Weather Service said a hurricane warning has been issued for Maui County and Hawaii County while a hurricane watch was in effect in Kauai and Oahu. "The centre of Lane will track dangerously close to the Hawaiian Islands from Thursday through Saturday," it said.
It added that though Lane is forecast to weaken in the next 48 hours it will remain a dangerous hurricane as it nears the Hawaiian Islands. "Lane is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 10 to 15 inches with isolated amounts greater than 20 inches over the Hawaiian Islands," the NWS said.
It added that regardless of the exact track of the storm, the state should brace for the potentially life-threatening impacts.
"It's not a question of whether they're going to be hit or not," Brock Long, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told a press briefing. "They're going to see impacts from this storm."
He said the priority at this point was to ensure residents were prepared for the storm. "Right now the priority that we have is life safety," he said. "We are asking citizens to proactively heed all of the warning order information coming from the governor and the local county emergency management agencies within the state."
"I urge our residents and visitors to take this threat seriously and prepare for a significant impact."