Hurricane Flossie gave Hawaii emergency planners exactly what they needed—another lucky miss. Passing south of South Point, Flossie generated little more than high choppy surf and gusty winds for Kau. Hilo and Puna had very light winds and just over 2 inches of rain. County workers closed off beach access. Schools and state and county offices were closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
In Kau and coastal areas of Hilo and Puna, many businesses and residential windows were taped and a few were boarded up. The county opened up 10 emergency shelters mostly in buildings where windows had been replaced by wooden jalousies shielded by metal grilles to protect against flying debris.
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