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 183,000 still without powerHurricane 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. A little over 183,000 utility customers remained without power across Hawaii by Sunday mid-afternoon, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us. At least three hospitals were operating on generator power, and 19 roofs were lost, Green said. Continue reading...