Folks remain vigilant for Hurricane Calvin

HONOLULU (KHON2) — The storm that is approaching Hawaii is still expected to weaken over the coming days, but officials said it’s never too early to prepare for a storm.

Crews spent Saturday clearing out streams prone to flooding with Niu Valley’s looking much better than years past.

Kahala’s Waialae Stream did have some overgrowth, but it’s nothing compared to the ditch behind Koko Head District Park.

One homeowner who did not want to go on camera said the city told him it’s not their responsibility to fix it. He said he’s concerned the problem could get worse with stormy weather.

“And the water flows from Koko Head Crater, so, you know, if there’s a big, major hurricane, you know, you kind of cringe, right?” said one homeowner.

KHON2.com reached out to the city and has yet to hear a response.

In the meantime, the American Red Cross said preparedness kits should have 14 days of food and water, medication, a radio, as well as important personal documents.

Its Pacific Islands Region CEO Diane Peters-Nguyen said having digital copies is also a good idea.

“It makes sense and it’s hard to carry a big binder with all the documents,” said Peters-Nguyen. “So it’s a lot easier to carry a thumb drive. And then, you know, if you have that, as I said, in a waterproof bag, you’ll be fine.”

Officials said it’s never too early to prepare, and City Mill told KHON2.com they’re more than ready to help with everything from propane to flashlights.

Fuel is great if the power goes out, but they’ve also got alternative sources like this portable power station.

“The great thing about this too is when we say it’s alternative power source, it connects to a solar panel,” said Shannan Okinishi, City Mill marketing director. “And so you can also use a power of the sun to charge this. Or of course, you can just take this and plug it straight into an electrical outlet”

Generators, water pumps and more are still in stock.

So if you haven’t thought about your plan for next week, “We don’t want you to panic buy. We don’t want you to come in, rush into the stores and, you know, just purchase whatever there is available.

“We definitely don’t want we’ve seen that happen with Hurricane Lane and Hurricane Douglas and it’s not a fun situation,” said Okinishi.

We’ll have a link to Hawaiian Electric’s emergency preparedness handbook, which is also available for free at City Mill locations.