Hurricane Lala Weakens to Tropical Storm After Skirting Hawaii's Big Island, One Dead, 130,000 Without Power

Since Hurricane Lala hit Category 1 strength Saturday and slammed the Big Island with blood-red floodwater, the storm has weakened back to a tropical storm while still pounding Hawaii with hurricane-force gusts, flash flooding and mudslide risk.

Lala's eyewall brushed the southern portion of the Big Island early Sunday, according to ABC News, marking what forecasters call a "direct hit" even though the storm's eye stayed offshore. The system tracked about 46 miles south, or 31 miles southwest, of South Point at its closest approach, ABC reported. That's close enough that National Weather Service meteorologist Joseph Clark said the fear of Hawaii's first direct hurricane landfall in 155 years has faded, since the eye itself passed clear of the island.

The death toll stands at one. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said a person died in a car accident in the South Point area of the Big Island, according to CBS News and The Guardian. Green also said 19 roofs were torn off structures in what he called an "enormous storm."

Homes swept off foundations, search and rescue underway

The most alarming new development since Lala made its closest pass is in the coastal communities of Naalehu and Waiohinu, near the Big Island's southern tip. Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda said flash floods apparently swept several occupied homes off their foundations there, triggering a search-and-rescue operation involving Civil Defense, the Hawaii National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard, according to the BBC and NPR.

"What makes this very challenging is that there's rushing water, there's debris, there's boulders on the road, and it's dark," Alameda said early Sunday, a quote carried across NPR, CBS News, CNBC and PBS.

CBS Honolulu affiliate KGMB reported two homes were swept away specifically in Naalehu in the Kau District Saturday evening. About 180 Hawaii National Guard members have been deployed statewide to assist with the response, CBS News reported.

Rainfall totals and power outages

As of Sunday morning, the Big Island had recorded 1 to 2 feet of rain since Friday, with the community of Laupahoehoe on the Hamakua Coast topping 33 inches, according to ABC News. Forecasters told NPR, CNBC and PBS that higher windward slopes near Mauna Kea could still see rainfall totals climb to nearly 35 inches (89 centimeters) before Lala fully clears the islands. This is enough to loosen slopes where some off-grid residents live in improvised housing.

More than 130,000 households were without power across Hawaii's three largest islands as of Sunday morning, according to the tracker PowerOutage.us, cited by NPR, CNBC, CBS News, The Guardian and Al Jazeera. At least three hospitals switched to backup generator power, Green said.

Hawaiian Electric told customers Saturday evening that repair crews were hampered by ongoing hurricane-force winds, flooded roads and downed trees, according to Al Jazeera. Hilo International Airport and Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport were both temporarily shuttered, and Big Island and Maui County commercial ports were closed, CBS News reported. Roughly 190 flights were postponed statewide, per the BBC.

No federal disaster request yet

Unlike the flooding crisis playing out simultaneously in Indiana, where Trump has already approved federal aid, Hawaii has not requested federal assistance under the Stafford Act. White House spokesperson Lauren Bis said in a statement Sunday that "the Trump Administration continues tracking and monitoring conditions on the ground in Hawaii," and that the Coast Guard is supporting search and rescue at the request of the Hawaii County Fire Department. The administration said it's "prepared to provide assistance in support of locally led and state managed emergency operations" if asked.

That distinction matters. Federal disaster declarations typically follow a state's formal request and damage assessment, not a unilateral federal decision, so the absence of a Stafford Act request so far reflects Hawaii's own emergency management timeline rather than any federal delay.

Storm track and what's next

Tropical storm warnings remain in effect for Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau as Lala tracks west, according to NPR and CBS News. The National Hurricane Center said wind speeds atop mountains and on windward and leeward slopes can run up to 30% stronger than the near-surface winds used to categorize the storm's official strength.

Forecasters expect Lala to weaken further through Monday but told CBS News it will "still pack a punch" as it crosses the remaining islands. NPR and CNBC both reported forecasters expect the system to regain hurricane strength midweek once it moves well west of the island chain, raising the question of whether it threatens any other landmass or dissipates over open Pacific water.

Many Big Island residents, per The Guardian, are still recovering from severe flooding in March and were taking precautions accordingly. Bobby Camara, a 75-year-old lifelong resident near Hilo, told the Associated Press he planned to "hunker down, cross my fingers, hope the lights don't go out," and said gas stations were busy as people stocked up on fuel for chain saws and vehicles.

The scope of property damage beyond the swept-away homes in Naalehu and Waiohinu has not yet been fully assessed. Hawaii County officials have not released an updated count of destroyed or damaged structures statewide as of Sunday.