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Hurricane
Iwa of November 19- 25, 1982 in the Hawaiian Islands
George
Pararas-Carayannis
(©) Copyright
2007 George Pararas-Carayannis
INTRODUCTION
Weather-related disasters
that can adversely impact the Hawaiian Islands include hurricanes
and their associated surge flooding. The 1982 Hurricane Iwa
was one of the most significant hurricanes of the 20th Century
to impact the Hawaiian Islands. What was surprising about Iwa
- which means "frigate bird" in Hawaiian, was that
it formed very late in the Central Pacific's hurricane season
and took an unusual path.
Iwa's path, close
to the island of Kauai, resulted in great destruction, although
other islands also experienced its adverse impact. Iwa resulted
in only one fatality but caused extensive devastation on the
islands of Niihau, Kauai and Oahu. It destroyed hotels and condominiums
and its storm waves, superimposed on its surge, destroyed beachfront
hotels and condominiums and sank boats moored in local harbors.
The damage was estimated to more than $250 million (in 1982 dollars),
making it the costliest (up to that time) hurricane for the
Hawaiian Islands.
Damage from
Hurricane Iwa on the Island of Kauai,
Hurricane Iwa
November
19- 25, 1982
Iwa's Formation:
Iwa begun developing
as a low pressure trough near the equator in early November
1982. Slowly, it begun to gain strength and to move northeastward.
Early in the day on November 19, it had organized into a tropical
storm but later that same day - as it moved over warmer waters
(partially because it was an El Nino year) - it gained strength
and reached Category 1 hurricane status on the Saffir-Simpson
Hurricane Scale (SSHS). At that time it was about 500 miles southwest
of Hilo, Hawaii.
Tracks of Storm Systems
and Hurricanes in the Eastern Pacific including Hurricane Iwa,
during the 1982 Pacific hurricane/storm season.
Iwa continued moving
in a northeastward direction towards Kauai. On November 23, its
wind speeds reached a peak of 90 mph with sustained winds ranging
from 80-90 miles per hour and gusts up to 100 miles an hour (160
km/h). Its central pressure is not known. The following day,
November 24, the eye of hurricane passed approximately 25 miles
north of the northwestern coast of Kauai. However its radius
of maximum winds was right over the island., causing maximum
destruction.
Iwa continued in a
northeastward direction losing energy and intensity. It became
a tropical storm again on November 24 and dissipated on November
25, 1982.
The diagram below
shows the track of Iwa for the period of 10-25 November 1982.
The following map shows the track of Iwa and location during
the period of its highest intensity near Kauai.
Track of
Hurricane Iwa, in November 19-25, 1982
Track
of Hurricane Iwa at its closest path near Kauai between 8:00
A. M and 8:00 P.M. on November 23, 1982
Winds on
Oahu: The most severe conditions from
Iwa - measured at Wheeler Air Force Base on 23 November 1982
- were winds of 45 knots from the North/Northwest, gusting to
68 knots. The wind directions changed from 332 to 113 degrees.
At Barber's Point the winds were from the Southwest at 37 knots
gusting to 61 knots.
REFERENCES
AND ADDITIONAL READING
Adams, W.M., and Pararas-Carayannis
G., Relative Susceptibility
of the Hawaiian Islands to Waves Generated by Storms and Nuclear
Explosions. (Hawaii
institute of Geophysics - Report to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.)
Oct. 1966.
National Hurricane
Center (2004). Costliest
U.S. Hurricanes 1900-2004
(adjusted). URL accessed on 2006-03-18.
Pararas-Carayannis
G. Hurricane Surge
Prediction - Understanding the Destructive Flooding Associated
with Hurricanes http://drgeorgepc.com/HurricaneSurge.html
Pararas-Carayannis
G. HURRICANE INIKI
IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS September 11, 1992 http://drgeorgepc.com/HurricaneIniki.html
Pararas-Carayannis, G., 1973. Offshore Nuclear Power Plants:
Major Considerations and Policy Issues. Chap. VIII: Direct Environmental
Impacts of Offshore Plants, 8 Nov. 1973, President's Council
on Environmental Quality (CEQ), Task Force on Offshore Nuclear
Power Plants, Washington D.C.
Pararas-Carayannis, G., 1975. "Verification Study of a Bathystrophic Storm Surge
Model". U.S.
Army, Corps of Engineers - Coastal Engineering Research Center,
Washington, D.C., Technical Memorandum No. 50, May 1975 (Study
performed for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the
licencing of the Crystal River (Florida) nuclear plant).
Pararas-Carayannis,
G. Proposed American
National Standard - Aquatic Ecological Survey Guidelines For
the Siting, Design. Construction, and Operation of Thermal Power
Plants. American
Nuclear Society, Monogram, September, 1979.
Pararas-Carayannis, G.,1993. The
Wind and Water Effects from Hurricane Iniki on September 11,
1992, at Lawai Beach Resort, Poipu, Island of Kauai, Hawaiian
Islands. A study
prepared for Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co., Inc,
Spokane, Washington,and the Ritter Group of Companies, Chicago,
June, 1993.
Pararas-Carayannis, G., 2004. Natural
Disasters in Oceania,
Chapter 10, in International Perspectives on Natural Disasters:
Occurence, Mitigation, and Consequences -Book Series: ADVANCES
IN NATURAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL HAZARDS RESEARCH, Western Michigan
University, ISBN: 1-4020-2850-4, Nov. 2004, Springer Publishing,
Netherlands.
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