KAPAA, Hawaii -- Hawaii avoided a direct hit from Hurricane Lala this weekend, but the islands were pounded with rain and wind, and power was out in several areas of the state as of Sunday night.
If it had connected with the Big Island, Lala would have been the first hurricane to make landfall in 155 years. But the storm passed just south of the island's tip, according to the Associated Press, with sustained winds of about 75 mph.
Still, Hawaiian Electric said Sunday night that about 178,000 customers had lost power on the Big Island, Oahu and Maui County, which includes the islands of Lanai and Molokai. It said it was working "through the night" as it waited for more crews to arrive. It was posting updates to X and to maps on its site (Kauai is managed by a separate utility). It was unclear if any major resorts were impacted.
The Big Island's airports at Kona and Hilo were closed Saturday, but a post from the state's Department of Transportation said that both had reopened Sunday. Thirty-two percent of Hawaiian Airlines' flights were canceled and 53% were delayed on Saturday, but 7% were canceled Sunday, according to FlightAware.
The state's ports were also reopened. Norwegian Cruise Line's interisland cruise ship, the Pride of America, appeared to have ridden out the storm west and north of the islands, according to CruiseMapper, but was in the Honolulu area Sunday night.
This report was updated Aug. 17 with new information throughout.