Hurricane

The beach has claimed another first-time music festival this year.

Ocean Way, the beachfront Santa Monica music fest, has been canceled just two weeks before debuting. The two-day event was set for Sept. 26-27.

Goldenvoice, the promoter behind Ocean Way as well as the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, announced the news Friday in an email from its ticketing platform AXS.

“Due to the impacts of Hurricane Marie, the City of Santa Monica has canceled the inaugural Ocean Way festival,” organizers said in a statement. “Storm surf and runoff [have] caused significant beach erosion and the festival can no longer be safely held as planned. Plans are already underway to bring the festival back to Santa Monica in 2027.”

Tickets, which ran from $249 to $2,250, will be refunded within five to seven business days, the promoter said.

Hurricane Marie, spurred by the “Super El Niño” weather pattern resulting from warming waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, severely damaged coastal areas from Malibu to Long Beach and Dana Point

“I am deeply saddened that severe weather and beach conditions have forced the City and Goldenvoice to make this difficult decision. However, the safety of festival-goers, our residents and the Pier must remain our priority,” Santa Monica City Council member Dan Hall said in a statement to The Times. “With Hurricane Marie also causing sinkholes in Malibu and triggering home evacuations in Long Beach due to rising surf, the rapid erosion of the beach near the Sandbox event space over the past few days is deeply concerning. The City is working rapidly to keep the Pico storm drain and shoreline repaired and ready for upcoming weather.”

“While we are all disappointed,” Hall said, “I remain optimistic about bringing Ocean Way back next summer.”

The fest was slated to have headline sets by the Killers and Olivia Dean, along with Khruangbin, Sublime, Jack White and many others.

Goldenvoice announced the festival in July, with high hopes that it would open up the waterfront to more public events and concerts in Santa Monica and establish a new marquee festival on the west side of Los Angeles. Santa Monica’s retail and nightlife scenes have struggled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the festival, which promoters touted as car-free, would have set a precedent for transit-oriented concertgoing.

“We’ve got to take a chance on new things,” Goldenvoice concert producer Nic Adler told The Times in August. ”There is pressure. I think the city wants it, but that takes a little bit of risk and trying something new.”

“We really cannot keep doing the same things that we’ve always done and expect for Santa Monica to shine,” Santa Monica Mayor Caroline Torosis said in an earlier interview. “We have to invite people back to our city. We have been yearning to get back a big music festival on our beach to showcase the city, because the beach is our best asset.”

The festival is the second major beachside concert to go down this year. The inaugural LA Jazz Festival on Dockweiler Beach was canceled on what would have been its opening day, after its finances and permitting fell through.

Climate change and weather damage have become a major concern for festivals. Bonnaroo, in Tennessee, announced last month that the festival would take 2027 off to repair the grounds, after heavy storms canceled sets and prompted evacuations this year. Stagecoach, the country music festival on the same site as Coachella, also temporarily shut down this year due to strong winds.

The Category 1 hurricane misses Kauai but causes widespread destruction, power outages and evacuations.

Catastrophic winds and torrential rains from Hurricane Lowell have pelted Hawaii’s western island of Kauai, knocking out power to at least 30,000 residents and ripping up tracts of beachside roads.

Vicious winds knocked down trees and left nearly 92 percent of Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) residents without power by early Tuesday as the storm moved north into the open sea.

While the now-weakened Category 1 hurricane did not make landfall on Kauai, it blew down trees, power poles and lines, causing massive destruction from about 128 kilometres (80 miles) west of the island, according to the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency.

With approximately 85mph (137km/h) wind gusts, the storm brought a deluge that flooded coastal roads and forced roughly 300 residents to evacuate.

The centre of the storm passed west of the islands in the overnight hours on Tuesday and receded further throughout the day, but dangerous surf from the remnants of the hurricane will impact the Southern California coast for several days given the intensity of the winds, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.

Emergency officials are asking residents to conserve water and stay off the roads.

Hawaiian mayor Derek Kawakami said that there was “extensive damage” being reported on Tuesday.

“Everyone’s participation has gone from preparation to sheltering to staying off roads …. to now gathering data and information,” the mayor stated.

The Kauai County government urged locals to shelter in place to allow crews to assess damage, clear debris, and restore power and services safely.

Flooding and mudslides will continue to be a risk through the day, said Eric Blake of the National Hurricane Center.

The force of the sustained winds had decreased overall by early Tuesday, and the centre forecasts gradual weakening over the next few days.

In its latest advisory late Tuesday morning local time, the hurricane centre said Lowell had maximum sustained winds near 65mph with higher gusts and was moving north at 14mph.

Hurricane warnings for Kauai and the tiny island of Niihau, which has fewer than 100 permanent residents, were no longer in place by Tuesday morning local time. But high surf and deadly rip currents from the waning storm will continue to affect Hawaii’s exposed coasts for the next day or two.

A tropical storm warning was also lifted for Oahu, the state’s most populated island.

Aug. 30 (UPI) — Karina rapidly strengthened into a major Category 3 hurricane Sunday evening and was moving west over the Pacific Ocean, forecasters said.

The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 125 mph and was located about 960 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California in northwestern Mexico, the National Hurricane Center said in its 5 p.m. PDT update.

It was moving west at 9 mph. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 5 miles, according to the NHC.

Forecasters said the storm is expected to take a slower westward to west-northwest motion over the next few days, with some additional strengthening possible.

Swells generated by the storm are forecast to affect the coast of southwest Mexico and the Baja California Peninsula during that time, according to the NHC, which warned that they are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

Aug. 17 (UPI) — As of Monday, Lala has moved away from Hawaii, but the hurricane — a tropical storm as of Sunday — left widespread damage in its wake.

The storm brought intense rain and high winds to the islands, although it didn’t make landfall. By Monday, it was moving to the west, getting stronger and expected to become a hurricane again at sea. Behind it, Hawaii’s residents began to clean up the damage — and a lot of mud.

The flooding swept about 100 homes off their foundations on Hawaii’s Big Island. Gov. Josh Green said that no one was believed to have died in those incidents. A car crash Sunday that killed one person is no longer considered to be related to Lala, CNN reported.

“Everyone is safe and healthy,” Green said, CBS News reported. “But, boy, a lot of work ahead.”

Tens of thousands of people were without power Monday. The heavy rainfall set off landslides that also wiped out roads. Kimo Alameda, mayor of Hawaii County, said power restoration in some areas could take days or longer and that six bridges were at least partially destroyed.

In a social media post Monday, Alameda said that the Department of Water Supply is asking all Hawaii (Big) Island customers to limit water use to essential purposes only.

All state and county offices, schools and courts were closed Monday.

Five places on the islands received 35 inches or more of rain, and Kapalua in Maui County received 48 inches.

The National Hurricane Center said Monday that Lala is moving west and expected to turn toward the west-northwest and northwest on Wednesday and Thursday. Its maximum sustained winds are now about 65 mph. It could become a hurricane again by Tuesday.

“Large waves generated by Lala will continue to trend down from east to west across the Hawaiian waters, but life-threatening surf and rip current conditions will persist today,” the NHC said.

The devastating hurricane grazes the Big Island in Hawaii in the US, but avoids making landfall.

Hurricane Lala has weakened from a Category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm after passing south of Hawaii, but meteorologists warned that hurricane-force gusts could still batter the islands with flash flooding and punishing winds.

On Saturday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued a hurricane warning for the Big Island, which has not suffered a direct hurricane landfall in 155 years.

But as tropical storm winds soared west from Maui to Oahu and Kauai on Sunday, Hurricane Lala drifted past, edging the Hawaiian coast and just escaping primary impact zones.

Still, pounding waves crashed against the shore of the Big Island. Wild squalls bent tall palm trees, and fierce sideways rain swelled rivers.

Up to one metre (three feet) of rain was expected on higher windward slopes. Such a torrent could turn rivers into turbulent floods and cause life-threatening mudslides. The NHC said in an advisory published early Sunday morning that rainfall totals could even reach up to 90cm (35 inches) in some areas of the Big Island.

More than 60,000 households were without power, and three hospitals switched to generator power, Hawaii’s Governor Josh Green said Saturday evening.

At least one person died in a car accident in the South Point area of the Big Island, while 19 roofs were lost in the “enormous storm”. 

Christine Matsuda, who lives in Waimea, on the northern side of the island, told the Associated Press that “big gusts every few minutes rattle the whole house”.

Tropical storm warnings remain active for Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Oahu, Kauai, and Niihau. Dire conditions continue to lash the Hawaiian coast as monster waves drive coastal erosion and severe flooding plagues communities across the US state. The westward-moving storm raises fears among residents regarding heavy floods and strong winds that could spark catastrophic wildfires in the Aloha State.

Hurricane Lala disrupted travel between Los Angeles and Hawaii on Saturday, canceling flights from LAX to destinations across the islands as the Category 1 storm approached the Big Island.

Several flights from LAX to Hawaii were canceled Saturday, including service to Kona, Maui, Kauai and Honolulu. Canceled flights included United Flight 2373 to Kona, United Flight 2221 and American Airlines Flight 205 to Maui, United Flight 1295 to Kauai and United Flight 1170 to Honolulu. A return United flight from Kona to LAX scheduled for Saturday night was also canceled.

Many other flights between LAX and Hawaii continued to operate Saturday, with some experiencing delays.

Lala strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane Saturday, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, as it approached the southern end of the Big Island. Forecasters warned of life-threatening flooding and mudslides, with as much as 25 inches of rain possible at higher elevations. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green urged residents to shelter in place as rainfall reached 2 inches an hour in some areas.

If Lala makes landfall, it would be the first hurricane to do so on the Big Island in 155 years.

Hawaii transportation officials moved to close Hilo International Airport and Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole on Saturday. Airlines had no more flights scheduled from Hilo for the day and none from Kona after 2 p.m., according to the Hawaii Department of Transportation.

Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines canceled 54 inter-island flights and 11 trans-Pacific flights Saturday because of the storm. Five of the canceled trans-Pacific flights were to or from Kona. Affected passengers were being accommodated on later flights.

Several airlines offered travelers more flexibility to change their plans. Hawaiian, United and Southwest offered travel waivers allowing customers to change affected flights at no extra cost.

The travel disruptions were also creating uncertainty for LAX travelers. One traveler on Reddit said they were scheduled to fly from LAX to Kona on Sunday afternoon. “I am praying my flight doesn’t get cancelled,” the traveler wrote.

Flight attendant Cheryl DeFonce, meanwhile, wrote on Instagram that she and a colleague had been scheduled to work and fly to Kona on Saturday, but their flights in both directions were canceled. “Prayers to all of our friends in Hawaii & crews flying to/from the islands!” she wrote.

The Big Island airports were expected to resume operations Sunday, depending on conditions after the storm.