Lala weakens to tropical storm as it lashes Hawaii with heavy wind and rain

Hurricane Lala downgraded after skirting Big Island as one person dies and over 130,000 households are without power

Hurricane Lala weakened to a tropical storm on Sunday after skirting Hawaii without making landfall, but it wasn’t done punishing the Big Island with hurricane-force gusts. Total rainfall of nearly 3ft (1 meter) was expected on the higher windward slopes, turning rivers into raging torrents and threatening mudslides.

The Hawaii governor, Josh Green, said at least one person died in a car accident in the South Point area of the Big Island, where more than 100 homes were destroyed. More than 200,000 homes and businesses were without power on Sunday afternoon across Hawaii’s three largest islands, according to the utility tracker PowerOutage.us. At least three hospitals were operating on generator power, and 19 roofs were lost, Green said.