KAILUA-KONA — Gov. David Ige and Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim have signed emergency proclamations ahead of the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Lane.
Kim signed the proclamation covering Hawaii County at 7:38 a.m. Tuesday. It provides for the establishment of county organizations for emergency management and disaster relief with the mayor having direct responsibility and authority over emergency management within the county.
Later Tuesday, Ige signed the statewide prolamation that declares the counties of Hawaii, Maui, Kalawao, Kauai and the City and County of Honolulu disaster areas for the purpose of implementing emergency management functions. The proclamation also authorizes the expenditure of state monies as appropriated for the speedy and efficient relief of damages, losses, and suffering resulting from Hurricane Lane.
“This emergency proclamation allows us to line up services and necessary resources prior to the event so that we can keep our communities safe and running as efficiently as possible,” said Gov. Ige. “Hurricane Lane is not a well-behaved hurricane. I’ve not seen such dramatic changes in the forecast track as I’ve seen with this storm. I urge our residents and visitors to take this threat seriously and prepare for a significant impact.”
The emergency proclamation expires on Aug. 29.
As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, Lane was a strong Category 4 hurricane circulating 155 mph winds some 380 miles south-southeast of Hilo and 340 miles south-southeast of South Point, according to forecasters with the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu. The storm was headed west-northwest at 1o mph.
Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 40 miles from the center of Lane and tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 140 miles.