Tourism industry tells Hawaii visitors: State of Hawaii is ready and prepared for Hurricane Iselle

jstof
jstof
Avatar of Linda Hohnholz
Written by Linda Hohnholz

Al Jazeera just told the world Hawaii was no longer a travel paradise. ETN cannot really confirm this.

Al Jazeera just told the world Hawaii was no longer a travel paradise. ETN cannot really confirm this. The weather out of our office window at 10:30 am looks beautiful with mostly blue sky and a lot of sun and gentle trade winds. This may, of course, change soon.

A Hurricane Warning remains in effect for Hawaii Island, which is expected to experience heavy rain, strong winds, large surf, and coastal surge as early as this afternoon.

To clarify: Hawaii Island is the Big Island of Hawaii. Recently this island was renamed Hawaii Island by tourism officials in the state.

Maui County, Oahu, and Kauai remain under a Tropical Storm Warning and are expected to be affected as early as Thursday evening into Friday. Flash flood watches remain in effect for all Hawaiian Islands through Saturday morning.

Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie confirmed all public agencies are ready and available to deal with any situation. He said a huge national network of assistance is standing by if needed. The situation is coordinated with all State and Federal authorities.

Price gouging became an issue yesterday when shops charged inflated rates for flash lights, bottled water and other items needed to prepare for the hurricane. Governor Abercrombie in cooperation with the State Department of Consumer Protection signed an emergency order to implement a price freeze on such items. The Hawaii State Attorney General said: “Violations will be prosecuted to the full extend of the law.”

Mike McCartney leading the Hawaii Tourism Authority says the travel and tourism industry of the State is prepared. An excellent system is in place in cooperation with hotels and tour operators to keep the 90,000+ US and foreign tourists visiting Hawaii at this time informed. This is done in the language of the visitor.

Flights

As of this morning, American Airlines, Island Air, Mokulele, United Airlines and US Airways have made flight cancellations.

The Hawaii Tourism Authority is encouraging anyone traveling through the weekend to contact their airline carriers directly to confirm their flights and make any changes. While some airline carriers are offering to waive cancellation or change fees, they are requiring that all changes be made prior to arriving at the airport.

Therefore, HTA are asking that all hotels and accommodations advise their guests to contact their airlines directly, prior to leaving for the airport. A list of flight cancellations is located on the Hawaii Tourism Authority website under the special alert section and will be updated on an ongoing basis as we receive confirmation of new cancellations.

Public Transportation

The Hele-On Bus mass transit system on Hawaii Island is still scheduled to operate as normal on Thursday, Aug. 7 and Friday, Aug. 8. Sudden cancellations or delays may be expected. For further updates, visit the Hele-On Bus website at www.heleonbus.org.

Maui County will be suspending its Maui Bus service between 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday evening through Friday, until the determination is made that the weather and roads are clear and safe to travel. In conjunction with Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc. (MEO) and Roberts Hawaii, Maui County will also be providing complimentary transportation service to shelters in Maui County Thursday afternoon between 1-6 p.m. For more information, visit www.mauicounty.gov/bus.

The City and County of Honolulu will cease TheBus and TheHandi-Van services on Friday, Aug. 8 at 12 a.m. City buses will be providing evacuation bus service from 10 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 7 through 1 a.m., Friday, Aug. 8 to designated evacuation centers.
For more information, visit http://www.thebus.org/.

Closures

The following is a list of additional closures as of Thursday, Aug. 7. A complete list of park and other facility closures statewide will be updated in an on-going basis and can be found on the Hawaii Tourism Authority website under the special alert section.

Statewide

The State Department of Transportation is closing ports across the state. The closures are anticipated to take place as follows:
Hawaii Island:

Hilo, Thursday at 4 a.m.
Kawaihae, Thursday at 7 a.m.
Maui County:
Kahului, Thursday at 9 a.m.
Molokai and Lanai, Thursday at 12 p.m.
Oahu
All Oahu ports, Thursday at 6 p.m.
Kauai
Kauai, Friday at 4 a.m.
Hawaii Island

All beach parks have been closed as of Wednesday evening and will remain closed until conditions improve and it is safe to reopen.
The Kilauea Visitor Center and Jaggar Museum at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park will close at 1 p.m. today, in addition to previous closures at the park. Closures will remain in effect until Hurricane Iselle has passed and conditions are safe. Additional closures may be warranted as the storm nears, and any damage is assessed. The Volcano House and Kilauea Military Camp will remain open for registered guests.

Maui

All Maui County camping sites will be closed from Thursday through Sunday.

All Maui County beach parks will be closed all day Thursday until further notice. CORA-permitted (commercial activities will also be canceled from Thursday until beach parks reopened.

All other County parks will be closed on Thursday from noon until further notice.

Oahu

All state parks will be closed by 7:45 p.m. Thursday evening (Diamond Head will close at 6 p.m.) and will remain closed until further notice.

The Division of Forestry and Wildlife will close its all of its managed lands on Oahu starting at 6 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 7. This includes all state forest reserves, natural area reserves, wildlife sanctuaries and game management (public hunting) areas, and Na Ala Hele Trails. State forest camping areas will be closed no camping and hunting permits will be issued until further notice.

Kauai

The Division of Forestry and Wildlife will close its all of its managed lands on Kauai starting at 6 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 7. This includes all state forest reserves, natural area reserves, wildlife sanctuaries and game management (public hunting) areas, and Na Ala Hele Trails. All access roads and gates including Hunting Units A, C, E, H and J will be closed until further notice. State forest camping areas will be closed no camping and hunting permits will be issued until further notice.

All state parks will be closed by 6 p.m. Thursday evening and will remain closed until further notice.

About the author

Avatar of Linda Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

Share to...