HILO, Hawaii — Hawaiians are experiencing storm fatigue as the third hurricane to hit the islands in recent weeks continues to spin offshore, Hilo’s mayor said Sunday.
The relatively calm state has been battered by several hurricanes including Lala, Lowell and now Nolo, and the eastern and central Pacific Ocean has produced at least 19 named storms. None of the three hurricanes made landfall in Hawaii.
“So, people are experiencing storm fatigue, some PTSD,” Mayor Kimo Alameda told NBC News on Sunday.
“I mean, you know, there’s a lot of anxiety about the weather right now. You know, a lot of us in the southern region have experienced catastrophic flooding,” he said, referring to the impact of Hurricane Lala last month.
Alameda said the storm killed two people and damaged more than 200 homes without making landfall. Gov. Josh Green subsequently issued three disaster proclamations related to damage from different storms in September alone.
Officials reported some rescue operations, but Nolo caused no casualties or major damage.
“We did take some hits in some parts of the island,” Alameda said. “For the most part, we dodged a huge bullet. It could have been a lot worse.”
After Green issued the emergency proclamation, there were approximately 400 National Guard members across the state, and more than 120 of them were sent to Nolo Island. President Donald Trump recently approved an emergency declaration authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate aid and provide funding.
In Nalehu on the island’s southern tip, Peggy McKibbin surveyed silt-covered roads with her four-wheeler on Sunday and pointed out the lingering damage caused by Lara – a bakery, a fire station and a hardware store were razed to the ground.
“Everyone has been greatly affected,” McKibbin said.
Nolo, a Category 4 hurricane, is expected to intensify Sunday afternoon, but is still expected to be centered south and southwest of the Hawaiian Islands.
A hurricane watch has been activated for the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, with the storm expected to approach the monument on Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The Pacific has been unusually active this season, with above-average storm activity at the height of hurricane season, according to National Weather Service chief forecaster Bob Oravec. He said the pattern is consistent with El Niño years, when the Pacific often sees more tropical storms and hurricanes.
Hilo Mayor Alameda said people are ready if another hurricane hits.
“Unfortunately, we’ve had a lot of practice,” he said, pointing to recent tsunami threats and earthquakes, as well as precautionary concerns about Kilauea volcano.
Meanwhile, Mexico’s Baja Peninsula is bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Polo on Monday, which battered parts of the country’s southwestern coast with rain and strong winds. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sunday afternoon that Polo remained a dangerous Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph.
Polo was moving north-northwest at 12 mph, about 285 miles west-southwest of Cabo San Lucas at the southern tip of the peninsula, according to the hurricane center.
The Mexican Navy said in a statement that it had assembled personnel and humanitarian aid at the Pacific coast ports of Guaymas and Mazatlan and deployed three ships that could deliver aid to coastal communities isolated by the hurricane.
Also on Sunday, Tropical Storm Rachel formed off the southwestern coast of Mexico. Rachel has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and is located about 275 miles south of Acapulco. A tropical storm watch is in effect.
Ryan Chandler, Shanshan Dong and The Associated Press reported from Hilo and Dennis Romero in San Diego.