Most people ran for shelter as the category 4 Hurricane Lane battered the Hawaiian islands; but eager surfers had other ideas, heading in the opposite direction out into the ocean to catch the awesome swell brought on by the wild weather.
When a tropical storm or hurricane pushes powerful surges of water towards the Hawaiian Islands, it can form perfect waves for local surfers.
For tourists (tourists that aren’t strong surfers), the waves are seriously dangerous, even deadly. This means beaches were closed across Hawaii over the weekend.
Source: CBS News
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said lifeguards were out in force with bullhorns, calling people off the beach and out of the water.
In a sigh of relief for everyone (minus the surfers), the hurricane has now been downgraded to a tropical storm.
Thankfully no storm-related deaths were reported but the nasty weather did cause flooding, landslides, road closures and power outages across the islands.
Lane dumped more than 40 inches of rain on the Big Island, and more than 20 homes there were flooded.
Source; The Gaurdian
Qantas and Jetstar have advised that all of their scheduled services between Honolulu and Melbourne or Sydney are operating normally.
Those who no longer wish to travel to Hawaii, can rebook to an alternative flight within the next week at no cost or receive a voucher credit refund for their flight.
Hawaiian Airlines is offering a waiver, valid through until tomorrow, permitting flights to be rebooked for new travel dates.
- READ: Airline scraps fees for those who want to change Hawaii travel dates
- READ: Travel Agents book 60% of Aussies to Hawaii
