Tropical Storm Olivia Nears Hawaii, Officials Warn Against 'Emergency Fatigue'

Carla Herreria
Updated

HONOLULU COUNTY, Hawaii ― Less than three weeks after Hurricane Lane wreaked havoc on parts of Hawaii, residents find themselves threatened by another tropical cyclone: Tropical Storm Olivia.

The National Weather Service on Tuesday afternoon issued a tropical storm warning for all of the main Hawaiian islands as Olivia moved closer to the state with maximum sustained winds of 55 mph. The storm, which is expected to affect Maui, Lanai and Molokai on Tuesday night, may bring as many as 5 inches to 10 inches of rain to the islands, and a possible 15 inches of rain in higher terrain.

Olivia is approaching the islands with much less strength than Hurricane Lane, which tracked close to Hawaii as a Category 4 storm in late August. Lane dumped 51.5 inches of rain in the state and flooded nearly two dozen homes and damaged 113 more, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

Simultaneous brush fires, strengthened by the storm’s winds, burned nearly 3,000 acres on Maui. More than 20 homes were destroyed in the fire, according to Hawaii News Now. Two other tropical storms, Miriam and Norman, missed Hawaii in the weeks that followed.

Hurricane Lane's heavy rains caused some flooding for a home in Hilo on Hawaii's Big Island. (Photo: Terray Sylvester / Reuters)
Hurricane Lane's heavy rains caused some flooding for a home in Hilo on Hawaii's Big Island. (Photo: Terray Sylvester / Reuters)

Gov. David Ige (D) asked President Donald Trump last week to declare Hurricane Lane a major disaster so Hawaii could obtain federal grants and programs to help the state with the cost of recovery.

Tropical Storm Olivia is a weaker storm, but emergency officials in Hawaii are warning residents against slipping into the trap of “emergency fatigue.”

“Two things that concern us at a time like this are emergency fatigue and the public underestimating the threat,” Tom Travis, Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency administrator, told residents.

“Because Lane wasn’t a direct hit, and Miriam and Norman bypassed the islands, people may start to feel like we’re safe,” Travis said. “The warnings start to mean less. But let’s be clear: In each of those cases, we were lucky.”

But Hilo resident George Orais-Bonheimer, whose home flooded during Hurricane Lane, said the storm has made him even more willing to preparing for a major hit ― if he’s able.

“We felt very unprepared during Lane, so we’re taking extra precaution during this storm even as it veers north,” he told HuffPost.

Orais-Bonheimer said that some stores in his area ran out of essential emergency supplies, such as sandbags, during Lane and have yet to restock.

“Big Island resources are very limited in comparison to Oahu so it can be very frustrating,” he added. “However, the sense of Aloha is strong on Hawaii Island, especially during emergencies.”

Ige requested that Trump sign a presidential disaster declaration in case Olivia brings more damaging rain and wind to the state.

The governor also signed a memorandum allowing state employees in Maui County, which include the islands of Maui, Lanai and Molokai, to take administrative leave to prepare for the storm. Schools in Maui County will shut down Wednesday.

Natural phenomena started keeping Hawaii’s residents on edge this year even before hurricane season began.

In April, torrential rain caused historic flooding and landslides on the island of Kauai, forcing residents out of their homes and stranding a remote community on the island’s north shore.

Kilauea Volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island had a devastating eruption between May and August that nearly wiped out the entire community of Leilani Estates and destroyed 700 homes.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that seven homes were destroyed in the Maui fires.

Also on HuffPost

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

A lava flow moves on Makamae Street on Sunday in Leilani Estates.
A lava flow moves on Makamae Street on Sunday in Leilani Estates.
Lava erupts from a fissure east of the Leilani Estates subdivision during ongoing eruptions on May 13, 2018. 
Lava erupts from a fissure east of the Leilani Estates subdivision during ongoing eruptions on May 13, 2018. 
Lava erupts from a fissure in Leilani Estates on Saturday.
Lava erupts from a fissure in Leilani Estates on Saturday.
Carolyn McNamara, 70, hugs her neighbor Paul Campbell, 68, at an evacuation center in Pahoa after moving out of their homes in the Puna community of Leilani Estates on Friday.
Carolyn McNamara, 70, hugs her neighbor Paul Campbell, 68, at an evacuation center in Pahoa after moving out of their homes in the Puna community of Leilani Estates on Friday.
A column of robust, reddish-brown ash plume looms over the Big Island on Friday. 
A column of robust, reddish-brown ash plume looms over the Big Island on Friday. 
A man watches as lava spews from a fissure in Leilani Estates on Friday.
A man watches as lava spews from a fissure in Leilani Estates on Friday.
Visitors view the Halemaumau crater within the Kilauea volcano summit caldera at the re-opened Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on Monday.
Visitors view the Halemaumau crater within the Kilauea volcano summit caldera at the re-opened Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on Monday.
Lava from volcanic fissures slowly flows and overtakes structures and trees in Leilani Estates on Sunday.
Lava from volcanic fissures slowly flows and overtakes structures and trees in Leilani Estates on Sunday.
People take photos of lava as steam rises from a fissure in Leilani Estates on Friday.
People take photos of lava as steam rises from a fissure in Leilani Estates on Friday.
A plume of gas mixed with smoke from fires caused by lava rises amid clouds in Leilani Estates on Sunday.
A plume of gas mixed with smoke from fires caused by lava rises amid clouds in Leilani Estates on Sunday.
The collapsed Puu Oo crater, which formed on April 30, spews ash on Hawaii's Kilauea volcano on Thursday.
The collapsed Puu Oo crater, which formed on April 30, spews ash on Hawaii's Kilauea volcano on Thursday.
A man climbs onto a petrified lava flow from long ago for a picture of the plume of volcanic smoke over Leilani Estates on Sunday.
A man climbs onto a petrified lava flow from long ago for a picture of the plume of volcanic smoke over Leilani Estates on Sunday.
A crack opened on Pahoa's Pohoiki Road on Saturday.
A crack opened on Pahoa's Pohoiki Road on Saturday.
Personnel at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park turn people away on Saturday.
Personnel at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park turn people away on Saturday.
Police and the National Guard check the identification of every vehicle passenger before allowing evacuees to return to their homes in Leilani Estates on Sunday.
Police and the National Guard check the identification of every vehicle passenger before allowing evacuees to return to their homes in Leilani Estates on Sunday.
The level of the summit's lava lake has reportedly dropped since last week. 
The level of the summit's lava lake has reportedly dropped since last week. 
Vehicles head for the intersection of Pahoa and Kapoho roads as evacuees are allowed to return to their Leilani Estates homes to gather belongings on Sunday.
Vehicles head for the intersection of Pahoa and Kapoho roads as evacuees are allowed to return to their Leilani Estates homes to gather belongings on Sunday.
A fissure in Leilani Estates lights up its surroundings on Friday.
A fissure in Leilani Estates lights up its surroundings on Friday.
U.S. Geological Survey scientists monitor Kilauea's eruption spatter on the roads in Leilani Estates on Sunday.
U.S. Geological Survey scientists monitor Kilauea's eruption spatter on the roads in Leilani Estates on Sunday.
Smoke and volcanic gases rise as lava cools in the Leilani Estates neighborhood, in the aftermath of eruptions and lava flows from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island, on May 11, 2018.
Smoke and volcanic gases rise as lava cools in the Leilani Estates neighborhood, in the aftermath of eruptions and lava flows from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island, on May 11, 2018.
Parishioners pray at Sacred Heart Church on Hawaii's Big Island on Sunday.
Parishioners pray at Sacred Heart Church on Hawaii's Big Island on Sunday.
A lava fissure erupts in the aftermath of eruptions from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island, on May 12, 2018.
A lava fissure erupts in the aftermath of eruptions from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island, on May 12, 2018.
In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, a lava flow emerges from a fissure as a result of Kilauea volcano activity on Hawaii's Big Island on May 13, 2018.
In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, a lava flow emerges from a fissure as a result of Kilauea volcano activity on Hawaii's Big Island on May 13, 2018.
Lava erupts from a fissure east of the Leilani Estates subdivision on May 13, 2018. 
Lava erupts from a fissure east of the Leilani Estates subdivision on May 13, 2018. 
The latest Kilauea volcano activity illuminates the sky and is reflected off a vehicle (Bottom) on Hawaii's Big Island on May 14, 2018.
The latest Kilauea volcano activity illuminates the sky and is reflected off a vehicle (Bottom) on Hawaii's Big Island on May 14, 2018.
Lava flows at a new fissure in the aftermath of eruptions from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island as a local resident walks nearby after taking photos on May 12, 2018.
Lava flows at a new fissure in the aftermath of eruptions from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island as a local resident walks nearby after taking photos on May 12, 2018.
Lieutenant Aaron Hew Lew, of the Hawaii National Guard, measures levels of toxic sulfur dioxide gas on May 8, 2018. 
Lieutenant Aaron Hew Lew, of the Hawaii National Guard, measures levels of toxic sulfur dioxide gas on May 8, 2018. 
Molten rock flows and burst to the surface, threatening homes in a rural area in this still image from an aerial video taken from a Hawaii Army National Guard a week after the eruption of the Kilauea volcano, in Pahoa, Hawaii, U.S., May 10, 2018.
Molten rock flows and burst to the surface, threatening homes in a rural area in this still image from an aerial video taken from a Hawaii Army National Guard a week after the eruption of the Kilauea volcano, in Pahoa, Hawaii, U.S., May 10, 2018.
Puna District resident Ray Kaaihue (L), 47, listens with his wife Jennifer, 46, their daughter Kieryn, 22, and Kieryn's daughter, Karsyn, 1, during a community meeting on the ongoing eruptions on May 7, 2018. 
Puna District resident Ray Kaaihue (L), 47, listens with his wife Jennifer, 46, their daughter Kieryn, 22, and Kieryn's daughter, Karsyn, 1, during a community meeting on the ongoing eruptions on May 7, 2018. 
Major Jeff Hickman, of the Hawaii National Guard, takes a photo in the Leilani Estates subdivision on May 13, 2018. 
Major Jeff Hickman, of the Hawaii National Guard, takes a photo in the Leilani Estates subdivision on May 13, 2018. 
An ash plume rises from the Halemaumau crater within the Kilauea volcano summit caldera at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on May 9, 2018.
An ash plume rises from the Halemaumau crater within the Kilauea volcano summit caldera at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on May 9, 2018.
U.S. Army National Guard soldiers take measurements for dangerous levels of sulfur dioxide gas near a volcanic fissure in the Leilani Estates neighborhood on May 10, 2018.
U.S. Army National Guard soldiers take measurements for dangerous levels of sulfur dioxide gas near a volcanic fissure in the Leilani Estates neighborhood on May 10, 2018.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.