Hurricane Lala lashes Hawaii with strong winds and torrential rain

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"It's actually hard for us to see... I've got a lot of water in my eyes," says a local reporter during a live TV broadcast on the Hawaii County coast

Strong winds and torrential rain are lashing Hawaii after category one Hurricane Lala skirted Big Island on Saturday.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green said Lala got "closest to [Big Island's] South Point area", where a person died in weather-related a car accident.

Lala gained hurricane strength on Saturday after generating 80mph (130km/h) wind speeds, which have since peaked at 91mph. It could dump up to 25in (63cm) of rain and produce a 3ft storm surge.

Tens off thousands have been left without power and officials have warned people to prepare for "life-threatening" conditions, including floods and mudslides.

The storm is forecast to continue moving westward just south of Hawaii into Sunday morning.

A hurricane warning is in effect for Big Island, while Hawaii's seven other major islands - Maui, Molokai, Kahoolawe, Oahu, Lanai, Kauai and Niihau - are under tropical storm warnings.

The National Hurricane Center said that, as of 17:00 on Saturday local time (03:00 GMT on Sunday), Lala's eye wall was "brushing the southern portion of the Big Island".

"Damaging winds and heavy rain will persist across the Big Island throughout tonight and spread westwards across the smaller islands on Sunday," it said.

The hurricane did not make landfall, however, instead coming within 30 miles (48km) of South Point.

Green said many roads in Big Island had been affected, with 30 sites having already been visited by crews, and warned residents to brace for an "an incredible amount of water".

"Please be very safe... you do not want to be out on the roads," he said in a video update posted across his social media platforms.

Videos posted by Hawaii's Department of Transportation show roads flooded with fast-moving water and blocked with fallen trees.

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Watch: Strong winds and downpours in Maui and Honolulu as storm Lala approaches

According to the governor, 190 flights have been postponed.

At Ellison Onizuka Kona International - Big Island's largest airport - 40% of flights were grounded, according to tracker Flightaware. Some 80% of flights were called off at its other main airport, Hilo International.

The most dire forecasts from the National Weather Service (NWS) have been issued for areas within Big Island's south-east.

"Major rainfall flooding may prompt many evacuations and rescues," the NWS said, adding that rivers and tributaries "may rapidly overflow their banks in multiple places".

More than 100,000 customers had lost electricity on Hawaii as of Saturday evening local time, according to tracker PowerOutage.

Green said three hospitals had also lost power but had backup generators.

In Maui, some residents have also been left without water supply as of Saturday afternoon.

"Crews responded to the area but were unable to continue their assessment due to inclement weather and multiple downed trees," a county statement said, adding crews would return once it was safe.

Meteorologist Jennifer Myers, who lives in Hilo, eastern Big Island, said landslides had already cut off some roads, while power lines had been ripped down by falling trees.

"The bay that's usually blue is like blood red right now because of all the sediment and river water in it."

Residents were repeatedly urged by officials to prepare for the storm early.

Hawaii County's Civil Defense Agency said public shelters were available in every part on Big Island.

Hurricanes are categorised on a scale of one to five, with a category one storm such as Lala on the lower end of the scale, with minimal damage expected.

Iniki, a powerful category four storm, was the last hurricane to hit Hawaii back in 1992.

It caused six deaths and $3bn in damage after making landfall on the southern coast of Kauai.

This year has seen a strong El Niño - a periodically occurring area of unusually warm surface water - develop in the Pacific, driven in part by climate change.

As hurricanes and typhoons feed off warm sea waters, this spike in ocean temperatures could facilitate a higher number of storms that grow to have a greater intensity.

World's oceans hit record-high July temperatures

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