One dead, homes swept away after Hurricane Lala lashes Hawaii

Hawaii is facing flash floods and mudslides that have swept away some homes after category one Hurricane Lala skirted Big Island, leaving one person dead in a car accident. A search-and-rescue operation was under way after several properties were uprooted from their foundations in the coastal communities of Naalehu and Waiohinu. Despite not even making landfall, the storm still dumped up to 35in (89cm) of rain in places, sending torrents raging down mountainsides. More than 200,000 householders were without power. Lala's eyewall howled past the Pacific US state without making landfall overnight before it was downgraded to a tropical storm. It is now moving westward, south of Hawaii. Tropical storm warnings remain in effect for all eight of Hawaii's major islands. Lala came within 30 miles (48km) of Big Island's South Point, but it was close enough to bring flash flooding, Hawaii County said on Sunday. The storm gained hurricane strength on Saturday afternoon, packing wind speeds of 91mph (147km/h). The National Hurricane Center (NHC) latest advisory at 14:00 EDT (18:00 GMT) on Sunday said Lala's winds had decreased to near 65mph. But the danger is not yet over. "Lala is expected to produce additional rainfall of 4 to 8 inches across the Big Island and windward Maui, with maximum storm totals of 30 to 35 inches," the NHC said, while the rest of the island chain could expect rainfall of 4 to 6in. The US National Weather Service's office in Honolulu said it had had reports of two homes being swept away amid the intense rainfall. Mayor Kimo Alameda said the county's civil defence agency had launched a search-and-rescue operation to find people whose homes may have been destroyed in the floods. "What makes this very challenging is that there's rushing water, there's debris, there's boulders on the road, and it's dark," he explained. About 180 Hawaii National Guard members have been deployed to help with the emergency response. About 219,000 customers had lost electricity on Hawaii as of Sunday morning local time, according to tracker PowerOutage. Three hospitals also lost power, but had backup generators. Big Island's two main airports, Hilo International and Ellison Onizuka Kona, were temporarily closed, but have since reopened. According to the governor, 190 flights have been postponed.