Oahu firecracker sales got off to a bang Tuesday despite heavy rain and flooded streets across the island.

Retailers reported moving plenty of inventory on the first day the law allows them to offer firecrackers for sale in advance of this year’s New Year’s Eve revelry.

“They’re going fast — better than last year,” Bo Wah of Bo Wah Trading Co. in Chinatown said at about 2 p.m. Tuesday.

It was also busy at Don Quijote in Waipahu where one register was dedicated solely to bulk firecracker purchases.

Dino Alexakos, owner of Pacific Fireworks in the Kapalama Shopping Center on Dillingham Boulevard, said sales started strong in the morning but slowed in the afternoon as the rain grew heavier.

“It will pick up,” he said.

Alexakos can say that with confidence because there are more people than ever on Oahu with permits to buy firecrackers.

The Honolulu Fire Department reported 20,951 permits issued on Oahu this year — 3,800 more than last year and almost twice as many as four years ago.

A permit is required to buy firecrackers on Oahu, and only from one of 62 licensed retailers. Each permit allows the purchase of up to 5,000 firecrackers. The last day to purchase the permits was Thursday.

Firecracker sales within the city and county of Honolulu end at midnight on New Year’s Eve, and firecrackers can be legally ignited or discharged only from 9 p.m. Sunday to 1 a.m. Jan. 1.

All other fireworks are illegal.

Anyone found selling, possessing or using illegal fireworks could face five years in jail and a fine of up to $2,000, according to Honolulu police.

A 38-year-old woman and mother of two died in a New Year’s Eve fireworks incident in Kapolei. Her partner and father of her children, 36, was left critically injured in the accident.

Honolulu fire Chief Manuel P. Neves said the number of fireworks-related injuries is generally lower on Oahu than elsewhere in the nation, but accidents continue to happen.

“The safest way to enjoy fireworks is to attend one of the public displays conducted by licensed professionals,” Neves said in a news release.

If you’re not the type to set off firecrackers and still want to experience the thrill of New Year’s Eve fireworks, there are a number of shows scheduled around the island, according to the Fire Department:

>> Aloha Tower Marketplace, Honolulu Harbor; 9 p.m., 10 p.m., 11 p.m. and midnight.

>> Barge fronting 4559 Kahala Ave., near Hunakai Street, 10:30 p.m.

>> Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort Lagoon, 11:00 p.m.

>> Barge offshore of Waikiki, midnight.

>> The Kahala Hotel & Resort, midnight.

>> Four Seasons Resort Oahu at Ko Olina, Coves 1 and 2, midnight.

>> Turtle Bay Resort, 11:59 p.m.