The Hawaii Tourism Authority issued this advisory this morning:

A Hurricane Warning remains in effect for Hawaii Island, which is expected to experience heavy rain, strong winds, large surf and coastal surge as early as this afternoon.

Maui County, Oahu, and Kauai remain under a Tropical Storm Warning and are expected to be affected as early as Thursday evening into Friday. Flash flood watches remain in effect for all Hawaiian Islands through Saturday morning.

About 200,000 visitors are currently visiting the islands, according to the HTA.

Flights

As of this morning, we have been advised that American Airlines, Island Air, Mokulele, United Airlines and US Airways have made flight cancellations. We are encouraging anyone traveling through the weekend to contact their airline carriers directly to confirm their flights and make any changes. While some airline carriers are offering to waive cancellation or change fees, they are requiring that all changes be made prior to arriving at the airport. Therefore, we are asking that all hotels and accommodations advise their guests to contact their airlines directly, prior to leaving for the airport. A list of flight cancellations is located on the Hawaii Tourism Authority website under the special alert section and will be updated on an ongoing basis as we receive confirmation of new cancellations.

Go to: www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/news/special-alert

Public Transportation

The Hele-On Bus mass transit system on Hawaii Island is still scheduled to operate as normal on Thursday, Aug. 7 and Friday, Aug. 8. Sudden cancellations or delays may be expected. For further updates, visit the Hele-On Bus website atwww.heleonbus.org.

The latest progress on Hurricane Iselle.

KITV

Maui County will be suspending its Maui Bus service between 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday evening through Friday, until the determination is made that the weather and roads are clear and safe to travel. In conjunction with Maui Economic Opportunity, Inc. (MEO) and Roberts Hawaii, Maui County will also be providing complimentary transportation service to shelters in Maui County Thursday afternoon between 1-6 p.m. For more information, visit www.mauicounty.gov/bus.

The City and County of Honolulu will cease TheBus and TheHandi-Van services onFriday, Aug. 8 at 12 a.m. City buses will be providing evacuation bus service from10 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 7 through 1 a.m., Friday, Aug. 8 to designated evacuation centers. For more information, visit http://www.thebus.org/.

Closures

The following is a list of additional closures as of Thursday, Aug. 7. A complete list of park and other facility closures statewide will be updated in an on-going basis and can be found on the Hawaii Tourism Authority website under the special alert section. Also available is a list of Attractions and Activities closures.

Go to: www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/news/special-alert

Statewide

The State Department of Transportation is closing ports across the state. The closures are anticipated to take place as follows:

Hawaii Island:

• Hilo, Thursday at 4 a.m.
• Kawaihae, Thursday at 7 a.m.

Maui County:

• Kahului, Thursday at 9 a.m.
• Molokai and Lanai, Thursday at 12 p.m.

Oahu

• All Oahu ports, Thursday at 6 p.m.

Kauai

• Kauai, Friday at 4 a.m.

Hawaii Island

• All beach parks have been closed as of Wednesday evening and will remain closed until conditions improve and it is safe to reopen.
• The Kilauea Visitor Center and Jaggar Museum at the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park will close at 1 p.m. today, in addition to previous closures at the park. Closures will remain in effect until Hurricane Iselle has passed and conditions are safe. Additional closures may be warranted as the storm nears, and any damage is assessed. The Volcano House and Kilauea Military Camp will remain open for registered guests.

Maui

• All Maui County camping sites will be closed from Thursday through Sunday.
• All Maui County beach parks will be closed all day Thursday until further notice. CORA-permitted (commercial activities will also be canceled fromThursday until beach parks reopened.
• All other County parks will be closed on Thursday from noon until further notice.

Oahu

• All state parks will be closed by 7:45 p.m. Thursday evening (Diamond Head will close at 6 p.m.) and will remain closed until further notice.
• The Division of Forestry and Wildlife will close its all of its managed lands on Oahu starting at 6 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 7. This includes all state forest reserves, natural area reserves, wildlife sanctuaries and game management (public hunting) areas, and Na Ala Hele Trails. State forest camping areas will be closed no camping and hunting permits will be issued until further notice.

Kauai

• The Division of Forestry and Wildlife will close its all of its managed lands on Kauai starting at 6 a.m. tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 7. This includes all state forest reserves, natural area reserves, wildlife sanctuaries and game management (public hunting) areas, and Na Ala Hele Trails. All access roads and gates including Hunting Units A, C, E, H and J will be closed until further notice. State forest camping areas will be closed no camping and hunting permits will be issued until further notice.
• All state parks will be closed by 6 p.m. Thursday evening and will remain closed until further notice.

Safety Information

• Safety information can be found through the HTA’s Travel Smart website in English, Japanese, Chinese and Korean.
• Please advise visitors currently in the Hawaiian Islands or coming to the Hawaiian Islands to monitor information from the Central Pacific Hurricane Center and Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.
• The HTA continues to work with its partner government agencies to monitor weather updates and impact on each of the Hawaiian Islands. We will continue to provide our tourism partners with ongoing updates to ensure the safety of our employees and visitors.