Thousands lose power, some possibly for months

Key Points:

• Hurricane Lala, a Category 1 storm downgraded to a tropical storm, caused severe flash flooding and wind damage across Hawaii's Big Island, leaving over 250,000 customers without power, with outages possibly lasting months in rural areas.
• The storm brought up to 30-40 inches of rain, damaging at least 100 homes and multiple bridges, and triggering multiagency search and rescue operations after flooding swept homes off foundations in southern communities.
• Emergency responders reported injuries related to storm damage, a fatal car crash near the Big Island's southern point, and significant damage to Maui’s Haleakala National Park facilities due to high winds and fallen trees.
• Additional rainfall and flood warnings remained in effect for other islands, with the National Weather Service warning of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, particularly in steep terrain areas.
• Lala was fueled by unusually warm ocean waters linked to climate change and occurred amid a powerful El Niño, which increases Pacific hurricane activity, leaving Hawaii vulnerable to further storms through the fall.