Hawaii on Saturday geared up to face a hurricane that threatened to pummel the islands with dangerous surf, strong winds and flash floods even as residents grappled with escalating numbers of coronavirus cases.
Powerful storms are familiar to many in Hawaii who have spent the past several summers preparing for tropical cyclones. But the pandemic adds a new twist.
Hurricane Douglas was 440 miles east of Hilo early Saturday It was packing winds of 105 mph , making it a Category 2 hurricane. Many volunteers who normally staff the shelters are older or have pre-existing health conditions that put them at higher risk of getting severely sick if infected by the virus. Many of these volunteers are thus staying home this storm.
Maui Mayor Michael Victorino said his county won't open as many shelters for Douglas as a result of the staffing situation. But he still expects to have enough room for those who need to evacuate because there are so few tourists visiting during the pandemic. Travellers are normally some of the biggest users of Maui's shelters during hurricanes.
Hawaii has some of the lowest coronavirus infection rates in the nation, but COVID-19 numbers have been rising in recent weeks. On Thursday and Friday, the state reported 55 and 60 new confirmed cases, both of which were record highs. Hawaii is used to stocking up on food and other essentials to ride out hurricanes. Yet in one sense it is ill-prepared for the storms because so many of Hawaii's single-family homes are older structures built before building codes were changed in the 1990s to take account of hurricane hazards.
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