Honolulu emergency officials are monitoring Moke and preparing for possible impacts later Sunday, even as they say the system looks much weaker than Hurricane Lala. Molly Pierce said the city is hopeful for minimal impacts, but she also made clear that weak does not mean harmless when the ground is already saturated and some neighborhoods are still fragile.
That is why the search around Hurricanes Weather is centered on what Moke could do to Oahu, not just how strong it may look on a forecast map. Pierce said the agency is actively coordinating to make sure resources are in place if needed, while warning that a little more wind or rain could still be enough to create trouble in areas that were already weakened by the last storm.
Pierce said most of the power outages from the previous storm have been resolved, but that does not erase the risks left behind. The city has already seen wind and rain, she said, and that has left the ground pretty saturated and a lot of trees and roofs unstable. In her words, they may not need impact as strong as the last storm to cause some damage.
She pointed to a simple problem that can quickly become a bigger one: debris. Pierce said it could be pretty easy for wind blown debris to cause some issues in trouble spots, including places that were barely hanging on after the earlier storm. She also said officials are watching rainfall closely because it could affect stream levels, adding another layer of concern if Moke slows down or drops more water than expected.
The message to residents is not to wait for the first outage or the first leak. Pierce said anyone who used emergency supplies during the last storm should replace, recharge and refresh their kits, and get any items they found they were lacking. People who use generators should follow manufacturer guidelines and never run them inside a house, in a carport or near windows. Those in areas that flood routinely should have a go bag packed, and households that could lose power, water or become isolated should keep water, food and charged batteries ready.
Pierce said the tropical storm’s impact on Honolulu reinforced how quickly routine preparedness becomes urgent when weather turns. She said residents know hurricane season is something they talk about every year, but after recent outages and people stuck at home, the gap between planning and needing that plan has gotten a lot smaller. Officials expect to keep watching Moke as it moves toward Oahu, with the main question now whether its actual impact will stay below the level of the last storm or still hit enough weakened spots to cause real damage.
