Hurricane “Douglas” is approaching Hawaii – storm surges predicted

Hawaii is preparing for a violent storm: Hurricane Douglas is heading towards the islands in the Pacific. The first hurricane over the Atlantic this season hit the US coast in Texas only at the weekend.

The hurricane “Douglas” in the Pacific threatens the islands of the US state of Hawaii: The national hurricane center of the US climate agency NOAA announced that the cyclone with wind speeds of around 140 kilometers per hour would leave Maui on Sunday and Monday night to Kauai over the islands or just pass them. Life threatening high and potentially destructive waves, heavy rains, and dangerous storm surges were predicted.

The Hawaiian Civil Protection Agency announced that relief supplies had been delivered to Maui in preparation for the storm. The authorities urged the people of Maui to seek refuge at home and avoid streets if possible. The Red Cross in Hawaii announced that it was preparing for the hurricane.

Honolulu: Hurricane Douglas is only hours away from Hawaii. (Source: Eugene Tanner / AP / dpa)

Hundreds of thousands of homes without electricity in Texas

The first hurricane of this year’s season over the Atlantic hit land on Saturday in the US state of Texas. The hurricane of the lowest level one reached the coast with winds of up to 150 kilometers per hour, as the National Hurricane Center announced. After that, “Hanna” weakened and was downgraded to a tropical storm. The weather agency expected the storm to resolve on Monday.

“Hanna” brought heavy rains with it. CNN reported that more than 250,000 households in southern Texas had lost their power as a result of the storm. In Corpus Christi a port was damaged, as the local broadcaster KRIS reported.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott had declared a state of emergency in numerous counties. The corona pandemic, which is rampant there, makes the work of the helpers in the storm more difficult, Abbott said according to the US media. “This challenge is complicated and made worse when you consider that it is sweeping through what is the most Covid-19 hit area in the state.” According to the Johns Hopkins University, around 5,000 people have died in Texas alone as a result of the corona pandemic.

Couple clear debris from destroyed home in aftermath of Hurricane Hanna in Port Mansfield, Texas (Quelle: Reuters)

Above-average active hurricane season expected

Over the Atlantic, NOAA was expecting an above-average hurricane season this year, according to a forecast from May. From June to the end of November, up to ten hurricanes can be expected, of which up to six could become very strong cyclones, the authority had said. On average there are six hurricanes over the Atlantic each year, three of which develop into storms of great strength.

In view of the available climate data and the higher water temperature in the Atlantic and the Caribbean, the probability of a normal season is only 30 percent, and that of a below-average season is only 10 percent, it was said at the time. US President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter that his administration is closely monitoring the storms and is in contact with the affected states.

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