Hurricane Lane: Flash floods and huge deluges batter the Big Island as storm barrels in

Flash floods and landslides hit Hawaii today as a slow-approaching Hurricane Lane unleashed a torrent of rain and 125mph winds.

The hurricane was downgraded to a category three storm as it approached land, but officials warned of “life-threatening” conditions and urged people not to travel after a foot of rain fell in 24 hours.

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said: “Lane, while it’s been downgraded, is wide and very moist and it’s going to hang around for a while, because it’s moving slowly. That’s why we’re taking so much precaution here.”

President Donald Trump had earlier declared a state of emergency amid warnings the storm could be the most powerful to hit Hawaii in more than 25 years.

Nobody was reported injured this morning but roads were shut after flash floods and landslides hit the islands.

Hawaii: Hurricane Lane - In pictures

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The eye of the storm was expected to pass west of Hawaii’s Big Island today before glancing Maui and other islands on its way to Oahu.

The hurricane span towards the islands on Thursday prompting schools and offices to close as residents hunkered down to ride out the storm.

A man takes photos of floodwaters from rainfall on Big Island
Getty Images

Many stocked up on supplies and tried to protect their homes as the state's first hurricane since 1992 continued to hurtle towards them.

Dramatic images showed cars and houses being partly submerged as the huge storm brought torrential downpours and flooding to some areas.

With Lane still churning in the Pacific Ocean some 200 miles (322 km) south-southeast of Kailua-Kona, more than a foot (30 cm) of rain has already fallen on the eastern side of the Big Island, officials said.

Floods rushed through the Big Island
AP

The National Weather Service warned that some areas could see up to 30 inches (76 centimetres) before the system passes. Bands of rain extended 350 miles (566 kilometers) from the hurricane's centre.

The centre of the Category storm was predicted to move close to or over portions of the main islands later Thursday or Friday, bringing dangerous surf of 20 feet and a storm surge of up to 4 feet, forecasters said.

The hurricane has now been downgraded to a Category 3 storm. Such hurricanes include winds from 111 to 129 mph and can cause major damage.

Forecasters say the storm had shifted course and is now moving closer to Hawaii.

Some parts of the Big Island have received 20 inches of rain in the past 24 hours as the storm approached.

Hurricane Lane viewed from the International Space Station in the early morning hours near Hawaii
REUTERS

Pablo Akira Beimler, who lives on the coast in Honokaa on the Big Island, said the road to Hilo was cut off due to landslides.

"Rain has been nonstop for the last half hour or so and winds are just starting to pick up," Beimler said as he posted videos of trees being blown sideways. "Our usually quiet stream is raging right now."

He said staying put is about the only choice he has.

"We essentially have one way in and out of our towns so sheltering in place is the priority," Beimler said in a Twitter message.

Geoffrey Seidman, owner of Honolulu Beerworks, and two employees board up his brewey as Hurricane Lane approaches Honolulu
REUTERS

Two campers were reported trapped overnight in Waipio Valley, along the Big Island's northern coast. The campers called authorities Wednesday, but emergency crews could not mount a rescue operation.

"We can't go in because the roads - there's a river of water down there," said Hawaii County Managing Director Wil Okabe. Landslides had closed some roads.

Residents battled to protect their homes and businesses with sandbags
AP

In addition, there were reports of boulders falling into a park in Hilo on the east side of the island, Okabe said.

Shelters opened Wednesday on the Big Island and on the islands of Maui, Molokai and Lanai. Officials urged those needing the Molokai shelter to get there soon because of concerns that the main highway on the island's south coast could become impassable.

Near empty shelves of even flavored water are seen after crowds decent on Walmart for supplies in preparation for Hurricane Lane on Wednesday
Getty Images

On the island of Oahu, shelters were scheduled to open Thursday. Aid agencies were also working to help Hawaii's sizeable homeless population, many of whom live near beaches and streams that could flood.

Cars were submerged on the Big Island
Getty Images

Because there's not enough shelter space statewide, Hawaii Emergency Management Agency Administrator Tom Travis urged people who were not in flood zones to stay home.

On the island of Lanai, it was eerily dead still and grey, said Nick Palumbo II, who owns Lanai Surf School and Safari.

"It's relatively like a regular day," he said by telephone. "I got friends calling me telling me there's surf at the beach, and they're actually going surfing right now."

He won't be joining them and instead is staying home with his four children since there's no school.

Palumbo is prepared for the storm after boarding up one large window and stocking up on snack food. He's also got a freezer full of fish he's caught on dives and deer he's hunted on the island to last them through the storm.

"I don't have a generator, but I figure as things thaw out, if the electricity goes, we'll just get cooking," he said.

The central Pacific gets fewer hurricanes than other regions, with about only four or five named storms a year. Hawaii rarely gets hit. The last major storm to hit was Iniki in 1992. Others have come close in recent years.

Napua Puaoi of Wailuku, Maui, said she and her husband planned on boarding up their windows and sliding doors. She was 12 at the time of Hurricane Iniki.

"When it did happen, I just remember pandemonium. It was all-out craziness," she said.

Unlike Florida or Texas, where residents can get in their cars and drive hundreds of miles to safety, people in Hawaii are confined to the islands. They have to make sure they have enough supplies to outlast power outages and other potential emergencies.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency moved several barges packed with food, water, generators and other supplies into the region ahead of Hurricane Hector, which skirted past the islands more than a week ago, FEMA Administrator Brock Long said.

Additional reporting by Associated Press.

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