Honolulu: Hawaii residents watched, waited and hoped for the best as a hurricane lost force but churned dangerously close early Sunday, threatening to batter several islands with wind and rain.
Hurricane Ana has been spinning on a parallel path southwest of the island chain for several days, and officials have opened emergency shelters and cancelled flights in precautions that come against the backdrop of a threat that hasn't materialized.
As Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell warned those on Oahu not to let their guard down, people at Waikiki Beach jumped into the ocean to surf big waves generated as Ana passed.
"Every time we have a hurricane," said 23-year-old, island resident Emile Meder, "we know it's going to be good." West of Oahu, on the smaller island of Kauai, where Hurricane Iniki killed six people and destroyed more than 1,400 homes in 1992, the threat was considered more serious.
"Those of us that were here during that time remember, and so we are very cautious," Mary Daubert, a county spokeswoman, said Saturday. "Until she's passed us, we all have to remain vigilant."
The center of Hurricane Ana was about 190 kilometers south of Kauai and 200 kilometers southwest of Honolulu early Sunday, the National Weather Service said.
The hurricane packed sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph), but the storm has lost some momentum, moving along at just 6 mph (9.6 kph), compared with 14 mph (23 kph) earlier.
Three emergency shelters were opened on Kauai as the National Weather Service issued a tropical storm warning for the island and said the eye was coming closer than first predicted.
A tropical storm watch remained in effect on Oahu but has been lifted for Maui, Lanai and the Big Island.
Meanwhile, the weather service issued a hurricane watch for parts of the remote northwestern Hawaiian islands, saying hurricane conditions are possible sometime late Monday around the island of Nihoa in a largely uninhabited marine sanctuary.
Since the tempest grew to hurricane force Friday, the center has remained more than 160 kilometers from land.
The result has been high surf, occasional heavy rains and strong winds, but no reports of significant damage.
The American Red Cross has closed evacuation shelters on the Big Island, but those on Oahu remain open.
Island Air suspended its Maui and Lanai flights yesterday afternoon and all flights today, but airports remained open.
