US News

Hurricane Flossie passes south of Hawaii (Roundup)

Aug 15, 2007, 8:07 GMT

Washington - A weakening Hurricane Flossie passed south of the US Pacific island of Hawaii early Wednesday, the National Weather Service Forecast Office said.

The eye of the category 2 hurricane passed some 150 kilometres offshore and meteorologists predicted that the storm would continue to weaken. However, the island was braced for big waves and heavy rain.

The Central Pacific Hurricane Centre in Honolulu warned that residents could expect rainfall as high as 250 millimetres through Wednesday, winds of 65 to 80 kilometres per hour and surf as high as 7.5 metres.

Flossie had weakened in its approach to the island from a category 4 storm on Monday.

Hawaii had declared a state of emergency, closing schools and putting emergency services on alert.

The last time the Hawaiian Archipelago was hit by a hurricane was in 1992. Hurricane Iniki killed six people and especially impacted Kauai island.