Storm Trifecta? Hawaiʻi Governor Urges Vigilance Days After Lala

Hawaiʻi could be facing what Gov. Josh Green called a "trifecta" of storms in the days ahead as Tropical Depression Two-C and yet another less developed weather system approach the islands on the heels of Hurricane Lala. The governor urged residents on Thursday to restock supplies and prepare.

National Guard soldiers and airmen and emergency supply pods have been prepositioned in the southern portion of the Big Island to prepare for the storm even as county and state crews work to clear roads and distribute aid to residents who were battered by Lala last weekend.

Special military teams have recovered more than 60 sets of remains washed out of Nāʻālehu Cemetery by flooding from Lala last weekend, Hawaiʻi Adjutant General Stephen Logan said at a briefing. Two other bodies recovered from open fields in the area are believed to have been victims of the storm.

Meteorologist John Bravender with the National Weather Service said the new tropical depression, called Tropical Depression Two-C, is expected to strengthen and move toward the islands in the next couple of days. It is forecast to develop into a tropical storm, but "this is not the same as Lala," he said. "It looks like the track is going to be a little farther south and the wind field is not as large, so hopefully it won't be as damaging."

The tropical depression -- which is expected to develop into a tropical storm named Moke -- was about 850 miles east-southeast of Hilo at 2 p.m. Thursday, and was moving west-northwest at a brisk 16 mph. Maximum sustained winds were 35 mph, and it is still possible the system could later reach hurricane strength.

The primary concern is for the southeastern sections of the Big Island -- primarily the Puna and Kaʻū districts -- that already endured the heaviest rainfall from Lala, Bravender said.

People there are still without power and digging out from under the mud and debris. The ground in many areas is still saturated, which Bravender said could put those communities at extra risk for more flood damage and mud slides.

More: Lala Recovery Begins: Ka‘ū Residents Rally To Share Food, Fuel, Hope

"Given all the damage that we've had and the repairs that people are still trying to accomplish right now, we're concerned about the damage potential from this," he said.

The three-day rainfall forecast calls for 10 to 15 inches of rain on windward and southeast Hawaiʻi island with heavy rains expected to begin late Sunday night, and 6 to 10 inches on windward Maui.

The rest of the island chain can expect 2 to 4 inches of rain as the storm moves across the islands late Sunday and into Monday.

Yet another less defined weather system farther east of Hawaiʻi is expected to become more organized in the days ahead, Green said.

"This is going to be a trifecta," he said. "We had Tropical Storm-slash-Hurricane Lala, now we're going to have Tropical Storm Moke, and then we're going to have sometime in the beginning of the month, in or around Sept. 1, another tropical depression."

"We don't have any idea yet how bad it will be, but it seems to have begun to consolidate," the governor said of the third storm.

Hawaiʻi County has received damage reports from Lala for 503 homes and 36 businesses so far, according to county spokesman Tom Callis, and non-profit Vibrant Hawaiʻi CEO Janice Ikeda said her organization has gotten more than 1,200 requests for assistance from Big Island households.

Green said the state is working on securing federal aid, and will do a joint damage assessment with the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The governor said he has been routinely texting or speaking with U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, "and he is of course a bit shocked at how many disasters we've had."

"They've already told us at the highest levels that they expect us to be able to receive the federal designations," he said. State officials met with FEMA staff on Wednesday as part of that effort to secure federal disaster aid.

In the meantime, Green said the state has money to finance the recovery effort. The state Legislature appropriated $100 million in state funds that can be used help fund the recovery this fiscal year "because we knew it was going to be a heavy season of storms."

Green also cited donations of $1 million each from Salesforce co-founder Marc Benioff and Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell to help with the recovery from Lala as well as a donation of $3 million from global clothing retailer Tadashi Yanai.