pacific as it heads toward hawaii. it s a category 3. with hurricane warnings up, let s find out what s happening right now on the big island. with the storm surge coming in, our former colleague, abc news photographier, ginny vicario, has retired in hawaii. joins us live by phone. thank you so much. we hope you re safe with your husband right now. we know you re hunkered down there. give us a sense of how you prepared. the first thing we did was board up the windows today because we knew they weren t kidding this time. everybody here in hawaii thinks, you know, it s going to pass us over because i guess that s been the record here. but we boarded up the windows. we filled up the bathtub. and we did everything that everyone warned us to do in advance. ginny, do you feel safe hunkered down at home? are there people evacuating their homes? do you know, honestly, we re out here right on the tip. when the hurricane comes, i think we re kind of at ground zero here. and so we don t s
while a major new deployment is not expected, 700 u.s. service members are already in iraq to secure american facilities and to help train iraqi security forces. stay with abc news as we cover the crisis in iraq all morning long. you ll find instant updates on abcnews.com. our other big story. classes are canceled today in hawaii and people are being urged to stay inside, as the islands brace for two major storms. the outer edges of iselle are bringing rain and wind to the big island overnight. it s the first hurricane or tropical storm to hit hawaii in more than 20 years. some residents, as you can imagine, are anxious. we re on the waterfront. nothing to block the wind. roof damage. older homes could have structural issues. flying debris for windows potential, as well. the biggest threat is heavy rainfall, up to a foot. possible mudslides as well, rock slides, even flash flooding in mountain areas. in addition, waves up to 20 feet along the coast are also possible. meantime,
older homes, could have structural issues. flying debris, potential, as well. reporter: bracing against the battering winds. this plywood will keep anything flying away from my windows. reporter: the heavy gusts are already churning up the surf, tempting some boogie boarders to take hazardous chances. do not get out there. it could be very, very dangerous. reporter: gas lines are long, as provisions grow short. splice of bottled water already running dry. all of the water is gone. reporter: and sandbags in scarce supply, too. a growing worry as the islands are getting their first taste of expected heavy rainfall. rain will be stuck over the wind ward areas, wringing it out, wringing it out. sandbags are sold out. i have a roll of duct tape. this will slow the water down, right? reporter: the governor says hawaii is in a state of high readiness. the response is going to be immediate. reporter: honeymooners-to-be, jeff and lori, say the storms won t rain out their
in. while a major new deployment is not expected, 700 u.s. service members are already in iraq to secure american facilities and to help train iraqi security forces. stay with abc news as we cover the crisis in iraq all morning long. you ll find instant updates on abcnews.com. our other big story. classes are canceled today in hawaii and people are being urged to stay inside, as the islands brace for two major storms. the outer edges of iselle are bringing rain and wind to the big island overnight. it s the first hurricane or tropical storm to hit hawaii in more than 20 years. some residents, as you can imagine, are anxious. we re on the waterfront. nothing to block the wind. roof damage. older homes could have structural issues. flying debris for windows potential, as well. the biggest threat is heavy rainfall, up to a foot. possible mudslides as well, rock slides, even flash flooding in mountain areas. in addition, waves up to 20 feet along the coast are also possible. meanti