Ana soaks the state

Hurricane Ana blustered by the Hawaiian Islands, delivering strong winds and high surf on Saturday — and it’s poised to dump more rain on Kauai before heading out of town Monday.

On Oahu, lifeguards stayed busy Saturday from Sandy Beach to Waikiki rescuing dozens of swimmers, many of whom disregarded warnings to stay out of the water and instead waded into the dangerous riptides and fierce waves spawned by Ana, emergency officials said.

There were no injuries in any of those rescues as of Saturday night, according to Hono­lulu Emergency Services Department spokeswoman Shayne Enright.

Meanwhile, Honolulu’s public bus service ran as normal, and crews had to respond to only a handful of roads hindered by debris or flooding, city officials reported. They opened five evacuation shelters — particularly with the homeless in mind — but also for anyone who didn’t feel safe knowing that a hurricane was spiraling south of the island chain.

"We don’t want to give the all clear," Hono­lulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said at a press briefing Saturday afternoon from the city’s Emergency Operations Center. "We’re really feeling the impacts now. With the size of this storm we’re going to have to wait until tomorrow. … We don’t want anyone to let their guard down."

Following the hit that Tropical Storm Iselle delivered to Hawaii island’s Puna District in August, Ana had every island on alert as it brushed past as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. The storm dumped more than 11 inches of rain on Mauna Loa on Hawaii island.

Ana offered yet another challenge to battle-hardened Civil Defense officials on Hawaii island, who continue to help Puna recover from Iselle while preparing for a river of molten lava to reach Pahoa town in a few weeks.

Flooding from Ana overran one of Hawaii County’s main highways through Kaawa Flats on Saturday — Highway 11 between mile markers 57 and 59.

The road runs from Hilo, Keaau and Volcano through South Kona.

Darryl Oliveira, director of Hawaii County Civil Defense, said the closure did not have a substantial impact on a community already anticipating a storm.

Theresa Zendejas lives just more than half a mile from the 2,100-degree river of lava headed toward Apaa Street in Pahoa.

Zendejas said she has no other choice but to ride out Ana.

"It’s pouring rain over here," she said. "We’re trying to put everything in storage, so I’m living like I’m camping."

Murky waters caused by runoff might also have led to the two reported shark sightings across the state during the storm, including a 12- to 14-foot tiger shark that attacked a professional surfer at "Freight Trains" on Maui on Saturday morning.

Kaleo Roberson said he was sitting on his surfboard in the waters off Maalaea around 11:15 a.m. with his three sons nearby — 8-year-old twins and a 6-year-old — when he saw the inbound tiger shark 10 to 15 feet away. He said that he moved a leg and stuffed his surfboard into the shark’s mouth.

"The thing was so close to me," Roberson said. "I looked right down the throat."

Roberson said he then used his board to hit the shark twice before it spun around and swam away.

A separate shark sighting was reported at Maili Beach in Leeward Oahu.

Meanwhile, the hurricane was expected to pass "dangerously close" to Kauai County on Saturday night. Forecasters issued a tropical storm warning for the Garden Island and Niihau and expected tropical storm conditions with heavy rains and winds of 39 mph or higher to persist there for the next day or so.

Kauai County officials warned residents and visitors to shelter in place — or stay with family or friends.

"Your last resort should be to go to a public shelter," the county said in a statement Saturday night. "Three shelters are opened for people who need shelter and have nowhere else to go including Waimea High School, Koloa Elementary School and Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall."

On Oahu, amid surf with 8- to 12-foot faces, Honolulu lifeguards made 24 rescues at Waikiki, 10 at Sandy Beach and three at Makapuu — and issued more than 600 warnings, according to the city’s Emergency Services Department.

An Ocean Safety craft also had to rescue a kitesurfer who lost his board during the storm, the department reported.

With the storm passing more than 100 miles south of the main islands on Saturday, officials said the damage could have been a lot worse, but the preparations were worth the effort.

"Nothing bad has happened in the past couple of years, yet we learn from each one," Caldwell said Saturday. "When something does happen in the future we’ll be better prepared."

Star-Advertiser reporters Gary T. Kubota and Megan Moseley contributed to this report.