Residents on the Big Island of Hawaii, which gives its name to the volcanic US Pacific archipelago, are preparing for a potentially historic weather situation with a tropical storm gathering hurricane-level strength as it approaches.
The US Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Hurricane Center (NHC) on Friday said Lala, a powerful tropical storm at the moment, should be at hurricane strength by the time it approaches the Big Island on Saturday.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green, who called the storm "enormous," declared a state of emergency on Friday in an effort to make sure the state and its counties "have sufficient resources to clear debris, secure infrastructure and take other measures to prepare."
Currently, a hurricane warning is in effect for Hawaii County, which covers the Big Island. The islands of Maui, Molokai and Kahoolawe to its northwest are under a tropical storm warning.
Should the storm make landfall as expected, it would be the first time the Big Island has been hit by a hurricane since 1871.
