Hawai’i was hit by a huge windstorm today. Gusts as high as 85 miles per hour were recorded. Trees and utility poles have been knocked down, stranding people on roads with no way of exiting. Some poles have actually fallen on cars.

Boats have been torn from their moorings, and docks have been destroyed. A local dinner cruise, the Star of Honolulu, was forced to return to port with the aid of a tugboat. Most other ships didn’t go out.

Electricity has been sporadic today, and as I write this, about 20,000 homes are still without power…whoops, make that 20,001 – good thing I’m on a laptop with a built-in battery . Being without power isn’t nearly as bad as the 95 people who have reported major roof damage to the Honolulu Fire Department, however.

The electric company and other services are treating this as a hurricane, with their entire staff recalled and on the job. It’ll likely be a few days before everything is back to normal.

Electricity is going on and off (mostly off). I’m posting via dial-up.

See you all tomorrow.