Hawai'i braces for Hurricane Nolo

Hawaiʻi's Big Island may see up to three feet of rain as Hurricane Nolo builds momentum in the Pacific.

Nolo is not expected to make landfall, but forecasters warn of catastrophic damage, and several severe weather alerts are in effect. Nolo strengthened to a Category 3 hurricane on Thursday, with sustained winds above 110 miles per hour.

Nolo arrives just weeks after Hurricane Lala, which caused major flooding and long-term power outages on the Big Island. Back-to-back hurricanes, on top of several severe storms earlier in the summer, are unusual for the Hawaiian Islands.

On Thursday, the National Weather Service warned that Nolo's winds could be catastrophic. The agency expects widespread power and communication outages, uprooted trees and fences, downed road signs, and impassable streets and bridges. It also warned emergency responders to expect evacuations and rescues due to extreme rainfall.

Heavy rains continue to flood parts of the Big Island. Communities in Nāʻālehu and Kaʻū are still recovering from recent storms that caused major flooding and power outages. Hawaiʻi Community Health Center temporarily suspended operations at two clinics during Hurricane Lala due to power and communication outages, and its Kaʻū location sustained significant flood damage.

Dr. Victoria Hanes, the health center's executive vice president of operations and administration, told Direct Relief that the health center can manage short power outages by safely storing temperature-sensitive medications and using paper patient records. The hurricanes, however, have caused outages lasting days.

Islanders have been urged to find safe shelter during Hurricane Nolo. The last storm stripped vegetation from parts of the island, and heavy rain made roads impassable. Hanes said the health center is prepared for isolated storms, but Hurricane Lala affected all of its sites. The health center already serves a medically underserved population, and during a disaster, its services become vital to a much larger share of the island.

"The hardest hit were the Ocean View and Kaʻū clinics, with severe flooding damage and long-term outages," she wrote in an email to Direct Relief. "We first focused on opening all sites where we could safely return to our facilities, and then mobilized our mobile health clinics to serve areas where our clinics weren't able to operate."

After Lala, communities across the Big Island worked to regain a sense of normalcy as gas grew scarce, groceries ran short and power slowly returned. Satellite phones, generators and Starlink kept people connected while the grid was down.

Health center staff volunteered at the community resource hub, supporting food distributions and donations and sharing information. The health center also relied on community partnerships to strengthen its emergency response.

"The fire department helped hand-deliver essential prescriptions to patients who were isolated and in need," Hanes wrote. "We are so grateful for our incredible communities and the multitude of ways that they stepped up to help others get back on their feet."

Direct Relief is in contact with Hawaiʻi Community Health Center and sent hurricane preparedness packs to the health center ahead of Hurricanes Lala and Nolo.