Tropical Storm Lala batters Hawaii with flooding, powerful winds; 1 dead
A vehicle approaches a downed utility pole dangling above Mamalahoa Highway during Hurricane Lala near Ocean View, Hawaii, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2026. Photo by Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Hurricane Lala weakened to a tropical storm Sunday after brushing past Hawaii without making landfall, but it continued to batter the Big Island with hurricane-force gusts. Nearly three feet (one meter) of rain was forecast for the higher windward slopes, raising the risk of raging rivers and dangerous mudslides.
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Tropical storm conditions were spreading westward Sunday from Maui to Oahu and then Kauai, and the National Hurricane Center warned that wind speeds atop mountains and on the windward and leeward slopes are often up to 30% stronger than the near-surface winds used to categorize storms.
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Powerful waves pounded the Big Island’s coast as Lala slowly passed by. Howling winds whipped palm trees and waterways swelled with fast-moving runoff from relentless rain that blew nearly sideways.
More than 130,000 households were without power Sunday morning across Hawaii's three largest islands, according to the utility tracker poweroutage.us. At least three hospitals were operating on generator power, Gov. Josh Green said.
Hawaii officials give update on Hurricane Lala
Hawaii officials gave an update on Hurricane Lala Saturday night. The storm has so far resulted in thousands losing power. Heavy rainfall and dangerous winds will continue to threaten the islands through the weekend. Life-threatening flooding and mudslides are possible.
At least one person died in a car accident in the South Point area of the Big Island, while 19 roofs were lost in the "enormous storm," the governor said Saturday evening. "There have been a lot of roads impacted, our crews have already been out to more than 30 sites."
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A search-and-rescue mission including Civil Defense, the National Guard and Coast Guard was launched after flash floods apparently swept several occupied homes off their foundations in the coastal communities of Na'alehu and Wai'ohinu, near the island's southern tip, Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda said early Sunday.
"What makes this very challenging is that there's rushing water, there's debris, and there's boulders on the road and it's dark," Alameda said.
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Tropical storm warnings were in effect for the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau as the storm moves west, raising the possibility of destructive flooding and even wildfires kicked up by strong winds.
As of 2 a.m. Sunday in Hawaii, Lala was centered about 105 miles west-northwest of Kailua-Kona and about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Honolulu, with tropical-storm-force winds extending as much as 175 miles (280 km) from its center.
Honolulu mayor discusses Hurricane Lala safety prep
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi joins LiveNOW's Austin Westfall to discuss the city's preparations as Hurricane Lala approaches Hawaii.
Lala was sustaining top winds of 70 mph (110 kph) and moving northwest at about 15 mph (24 kmh). Forecasters expect it to regain hurricane strength midweek once it's well west of the island chain.
By the time Lala's completely gone, some higher-altitude places on the Big Island, dominated by the towering Mauna Kea volcano, will have been hit with as much as 35 inches of rain, forecasters said, enough to loosen steep slopes where some of the 210,000 islanders live off the grid in improvised housing.
The Source: The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.