Hurricane Polo lashes Mexico as Nolo strengthens near Hawaii

Two powerful storms have gained steam and are battering opposite sides of the Pacific this week, with Hurricane Polo lashing Mexico’s southwestern coast and Nolo strengthening into a hurricane as it bears down on Hawaii.

Nolo became a hurricane on Thursday night, according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC). The hurricane is expected to strengthen further as it turns towards Hawaii’s Big Island.

Forecasters warned the island could see 15 to 30 inches (38 to 76cm) of rain, with higher totals possible through Saturday, while the nearby island of Maui could also face life-threatening flooding.

The heaviest rain is expected to fall over the same southeastern part of the Big Island that was hit by Hurricane Lala in August, where the ground remains saturated from that earlier storm.

“There are several communities that were isolated, flooded, roads that were washed out,” said John Bravender, a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu. “It’s that same area that is most under threat.”

Hawaii has already been battered this year by major flooding in spring, an earthquake and two other hurricanes since mid-August. “In my 20 years of experience here, I’ve never seen three hurricane watches for the islands in the same year,” Bravender said.

Hawaii’s governor has issued an emergency proclamation, activating more than 230 members of the state’s National Guard, and schools have been closed for the rest of the week.

Hawaiian Electric, the state’s main power utility, said crews that had been restoring electricity on the island of Kauai after Hurricane Lowell earlier this month would move to Oahu, Maui and the Big Island to prepare for Nolo.