Hurricane Lala leaves thousands without power in Hawaii amid 'life-threatening' conditions

Hurricane Lala approached ​Hawaii with strong winds and heavy rain on Saturday, leaving more ‌than 40,000 utility customers without power across the state as the National Hurricane Center warned of "life-threatening" conditions.

The poweroutage.com website showed 42,889 customers without power as of 2:14 p.m. HST (0014 GMT ​on Sunday) in Hawaii, including 31,792 on the Big Island and ​7,203 in Maui County, which includes the islands of Maui, Lanai ⁠and Molokai.

An advisory from the hurricane center at 2 p.m. HST predicted 10 ​to 20 inches (25.4 to 51 cm) of rain on the Big Island, and ​possibly up to 25 inches there, as well as 8 to 12 inches in eastern Maui and 4 to 6 inches in western Maui.

"This rainfall will produce life-threatening flooding and ​mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain," the center said.

Hawaiian Electric warned customers ​to expect “possible extended outages, potentially overnight,” as the storm system made its way westward across ‌Hawaii. ⁠On the Hamakua Coast on the Big Island, utility crews were assessing a 42-mile (67.6 km) span of transmission lines after fallen trees knocked down multiple poles and structures, Hawaiian Electric spokesperson Darren Pai told TV station Hawaii News Now.

Earlier in ​the day, the ​U.S. National Hurricane ⁠Center said Lala's maximum sustained winds reached 75 mph (120 km/h), making it a Category 1 hurricane.

The Maunakea Weather Center, on ​the Big Island's tallest peak, recorded wind gusts of ​more than ⁠100 mph throughout the early afternoon, although winds would have been slower closer to sea level.

The Hawaii Department of Transportation said it was closing Hilo International Airport and ⁠would ​close Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole ​at 2 p.m. HST. The department also closed the Hawaii Island, Maui County, and Kaua‘i commercial ​ports.