For Immediate Release: August 23, 2018 HTA Release (18-45)

Hurricane Lane Weakening, But Heavy Rainfall and Flooding Continue to be Major Threats to the Hawaiian Islands

HONOLULU – weakened somewhat overnight, but remains a Category 4 hurricane and continues to pose a significant threat to the Hawaiian Islands in terms of high winds, heavy rainfall, flash flooding and hazardous surf conditions.

Forecasters from the expect the hurricane to continue weakening as the massive storm completes its pass close to the Hawaiian Islands.

As of 11:00 a.m. HST, Hurricane Lane was approximately 200 miles southwest of Kona on the island of Hawai‘i and moving northwest at 7 miles per hour, with maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour. The island of Hawai‘i has experienced very heavy rainfall in the past 18 hours with flash flooding reported in several locations.

Hurricane Lane is projected to begin passing south of, but close to, , Lāna‘i and Moloka‘i later today, O‘ahu by Friday morning and Kaua‘i sometime later on Friday before completing its pass of the Hawaiian Islands this weekend.

George D. Szigeti, president and CEO of the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, advised that staying safe and out of harm’s way over the next few days is paramount at all times for residents and visitors.

“Don’t guess or speculate about the hurricane’s approach, or underestimate the power of the weather or surf conditions,” said Szigeti. “Stay close to your homes, hotels or lodging accommodations and stay off the roadways. Please be vigilant about following the recommendations of civil defense officials and Hawai‘i’s news media.”

Szigeti noted that Hawai‘i has approximately 270,000 travelers currently visiting the islands statewide. “To Hawai‘i’s visitors, please follow the instructions of our airline, hotel and other professionals working in the tourism industry. They are well-trained for handling crisis situations and do an excellent job of looking out for and taking care of our guests.”

A hurricane warning remains in effect for the island of Hawai‘i, Maui, Lāna‘i, Moloka‘i and O‘ahu, meaning that hurricane conditions should be expected. A hurricane watch is currently in effect for Kaua‘i, meaning that hurricane conditions are possible.

Residents and visitors are advised to shelter in place while Hurricane Lane is passing the Hawaiian Islands and to have access to a 14-day supply of food and water. Shelters are being opened statewide for those needing to evacuate flood zone areas. A listing of shelters is below, along with resources for information about Hurricane Lane, and closures of parks, attractions and roads.

Visitors planning to travel to or who are already here in the Hawaiian Islands should contact their airlines, accommodations and activity providers for information on being prepared and make adjustments to travel plans as needed.

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Weather Information Up-to-date online information on the trek of Hurricane Lane is available at the following: National Weather Service Forecast: www.weather.gov/hawaii Central Pacific Hurricane Center: www.weather.gov/cphc Hurricane Preparedness: www.facebook.com/PrepareNOWHI/ Real Time Satellite Image: Click to View

Media Updates Reliable, accurate and timely information about Hurricane Lane on a statewide basis can be accessed at the following media outlets in Hawai‘i: Honolulu Star-Advertiser: www.staradvertiser.com Hawai‘i News Now: www.hawaiinewsnow.com KHON: www.khon2.com KITV: www.kitv.com

Emergency Notifications The public can sign up to receive emergency notifications at the following webpages: County of : countyofhawaii.bbcportal.com City & County of Honolulu: hnl.info/alerts/login.php County of : countyofkauai.bbcportal.com County of Maui: http://www.co.maui.hi.us/list.aspx

Hurricane Lane Evacuation Shelter List for the State of Hawai‘i City and County of Honolulu Aiea High School Leilehua High School Radford High School Waialua High and Intermediate School Dole Middle School Farrington High School Kaimuki Middle School Kaiser High School Kalani High School McKinley High School Stevenson Middle School Campbell High School Kapolei High School Leihoku Elementary School Nānākuli High and Intermediate School Pearl City High Waipahu High School Brigham Young University Hawai‘i Castle High School Waimanalo Elementary and Intermediate School

County of Maui Hāna High School Lahaina Intermediate School King Kekaulike High School High School Maui High School

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Lokelani Intermediate School Lāna‘i High School

County of Hawai‘i Ho‘okena Elementary School Kamehameha Park Hisaoka Gym (Pet Friendly) Kealakehe High School (Pet Friendly) Waikoloa Elementary and Middle School

County of Kaua‘i Kīlauea Gym Kīlauea Elementary School Church of the Pacific in Princeville

For a listing of road closures statewide, please refer to the Hawai‘i State Department of Transportation Highways Division’s website at http://hidot.hawaii.gov/hurricane-lane/.

For tourism updates please visit the Alerts page of the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority: https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/news/alerts/

Travelers planning a trip to the Hawaiian Islands who have questions can contact the Hawai‘i Tourism United States Call Center at 1-800-GOHAWAII (1-800-464-2924).

About the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority The Hawai‘i Tourism Authority is responsible for strategically managing the State of Hawai‘i’s marketing initiatives to support tourism. HTA’s goal is to optimize tourism’s benefits for Hawai‘i, while being attentive to the interests of travelers, the community and visitor industry. Established in 1998 to support Hawai‘i’s leading industry and largest employer, HTA continually strives to help ensure the sustainability of tourism’s success.

For more information about HTA, please visit www.hawaiitourismauthority.org. Follow updates about HTA on Facebook, Twitter (@HawaiiHTA) and its YouTube Channel.

Media Contacts: Charlene Chan Patrick Dugan Director of Communications Senior Vice President Hawai‘i Tourism Authority Anthology Marketing Group 808-973-2272 (o) 808-539-3411 (o) 808-781-7733 (m) 808-741-2712 (m) [email protected] [email protected]