Hurricane Flossie batters southern Hawaii

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Hawaii's largest island shut schools and closed down tourist sites and roads on Tuesday as category-three Hurricane Flossie, the first hurricane to batter the region in 15 years, swept just to the south, officials said.

At 2:40 pm Tuesday (0040 GMT Wednesday) Flossie was about 160 miles (260 kilometers) south of Hilo on Hawaii island, the largest of the sprawling archipelago's islands, blowing maximum sustained winds of 105 miles per hour (170 kilometers per hour), the US National Weather Service said.

The storm, classified as "dangerous," was headed west-northwest at nine miles per hour (15 kilometers per hour) and expected to weaken over the next 24 hours.
Storm surges, flooding and surf of up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) threatened some coastal areas but most of the state would miss the brunt of the storm, forecasters said.

The storm bore down on Hawaii's "big island" Monday just as it was hit by an earthquake. The 5.4 magnitude tremor struck at 7:38 pm local time (0538 GMT), about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Hilo, the US Geological Survey said.

The Honolulu Star Bulletin reported that the quake was felt island-wide and caused a landslide, but no injuries or major damages.