Hawaii officials urge preparation for Hurricane Lowell's heavy rains and flooding

LIHUE, Hawaii (AP) — Officials in Hawaii urged residents and visitors to prepare for heavy rains, flooding and possibly mudslides as Hurricane Lowell, a major Category 3 storm, prompted the National Hurricane Center to issue a tropical storm warning for two islands on Sunday.

The Miami-based center issued the warning for Kauai and Niihau as Lowell was forecast to pass the islands to the west late Monday while traveling north. Forecasters said rainfall totals of 15-25 centimeters, with maximum totals of 36 cm, were possible.

Hawaii's Big Island is expected to see 10-20 cm of rain, with some areas getting as much as 30 cm.

Lowell had maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour and was located about 860 km south-southwest of Lihue, or about 895 km southwest of Honolulu. It was moving north at 9 kph, the hurricane center said.

Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 85 km from the center, and tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 280 km, the center said.

The rainfall could produce significant flash flooding and mudslides, the center said. A combination of storm surge and tides will likely cause normally dry areas near the coast to be flooded by waters of up to 1 meter on Kauai.

The Kauai Emergency Management Agency urged residents to fill gas tanks, charge devices, refill prescriptions and have enough water and food ahead of the storm. It also said residents should be prepared to stay home for several days.

In Lihue, a town of 8,000 with Kauai’s primary airport, residents were stocking up on food and water as supermarket shelves emptied.

Real estate agent Lori Benkert bought an extra 4.5-kilogram container of propane so that she can cook on the barbecue if power shuts off. Benkert manages dozens of properties in Kauai and has boarded up two houses on the western side of the island. “We’ll lose some power, probably have some trees, a bunch of tree limbs coming down,” Benkert said. “Everybody is probably going just to hunker down.”

Meanwhile, Hurricane Marie created dangerous surf conditions along the coast of Mexico's Baja California and Southern California. The Category 1 storm was located about 1,120 km south-southwest of San Diego with maximum sustained winds of 120 kph. Forecasters said Marie was moving northwest at 11 kph.

Although no coastal watches or warnings were in effect, swells generated by Marie will continue to affect portions of southwest Mexico, the Baja California peninsula and Southern California for the next few days, the hurricane center said. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.