Rare Hawaiian hurricane, packing strong winds and rains, approaches islands

Hawaii, US: Hurricane Douglas bore down on Hawaii on Sunday, July 26 packing torrential rains and damaging winds as it churned just east of the islands in the central Pacific, forecasters said, with one local leader urging residents to be prepared for the worst.

Douglas was expected to make landfall or pass close to the main Hawaiian islands from Maui to Kauai later in the day or into the evening, the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Sirens blared on Maui on Sunday morning as palm trees swayed in the wind and white-cap waves crashed against the island's shores, video aired on local television showed.

"Hurricane Douglas in a hurricane, not a tropical storm," Governor of Hawaii David Ige said. "We are asking everyone on Oahu and Kauai to make final preparations," he added.

In its latest update, the hurricane center said Douglas had maximum sustained winds of 90 miles per hour (145 km per hour), moving west-northwest at 16 mph (26 kph) about 90 miles (145 km) east of Kahului.

Storms of this magnitude are rare for Hawaii, with only five hurricanes and tropical storms causing major damage on the remote string of islands since 1950, according to researchers at the University of Hawaii. Honolulu Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino said, "Maui right now is feeling the brunt of Hurricane Douglas." He added, "Fortunately at this point outside of heavy rains and some wind gusts everything else is doing ok."

Hurricane conditions, including several inches l of rain, were expected during the day in Maui County and on Oahu Island and on Kauai and Niihau at night, forecasters said. The Hawaiian islands will experience large swells on Monday, producing life-threatening and potentially destructive surf along shores, the hurricane center said. The storm surge will lift water levels as much as three feet (one meter) near the hurricane's center, it added.

Hawaii has only a fraction of the number of tourists it would normally have at this time of year because of the coronavirus pandemic.