Hurricane Ioke

By: Inferno19900828

Finished on Monday, May 16, 2016 at 06:02:31 Central Daylight Time

Chapter One: Hurricane Ioke Makes Landfall

…Kauai…Monday, August 14, 2006…11:00 PM (Hawaiian Standard Time)…

For such a late hour, the small island paradise of Kauai is bustling with activity. The long-feared "big one," Hurricane Ioke, is on its way, bringing with it maximum winds of one hundred fifty knots. The storm is located one hundred fifty miles due south of Kauai, and moving northward at twenty-five miles-per-hour. Now, the last time Kauai had been struck by a hurricane had been nearly fourteen years earlier, on Friday, September 11, 1992, when Hurricane Iniki had moved across the island on a similar track to Ioke's forecast track.

On this night, all across Kauai, humans and experiments alike were rushing to make last-minute preparations for Hurricane Ioke. One such experiment was Experiment 5-6-4, or as Lilo had called her, Lot's Wife. She lived at the southern apex of the island, right in the path of Ioke's core. She had a lot of preparing to do. Her muscles were aching from all the work she'd done earlier in the day. Among the things she had to do were to board up all the doors and windows, effectively locking herself in the small house.

In another part of Kauai, the Pelekai Family had already completed their preparations, and were sitting in front of the television, watching as Ioke inched closer and closer to their beloved island. Each and every one of them had silently dreaded this moment for years. Their house was all boarded up, and there was no way out, or in. They had sat huddled around the television watching the weather channel for nearly twenty-four hours, only getting four or five hours of sleep each.

Hurricane Ioke was an unusual storm for a few reasons. First was its intensity. Category five hurricanes rarely form in the North-Central Pacific, only doing so in strong El Nino events. That was the case here. Ioke was also the third named storm of the 2006 season. Usually, a season produces one, maybe two, named storms. Three storms was something quite different…and the weird part was that two of them had crossed longitude 140 West from the east. Ioke was the only named storm (to date) that had formed in the Central Pacific.

Back in Lot's Wife's small domicile, she sat in front of her television, watching the weather channel. It was very painful for her to know that her boyfriend, Shrink (Experiment 0-0-1), wasn't going to make it home tonight. The noise from her TV was the only thing that she had there to keep her company.

In yet other parts of Kauai, other experiments were making their preparations as well. Experiment 0-3-9, or as Lilo called her, Atlas, was sitting inside her small home at the exact geographical center of Kauai. She was, like Lot's Wife, exhausted from all the work she'd put into preparing for Ioke. Also, like Lot's Wife's, her home was in the path of Ioke's dangerous core. Unlike a few of the others of her series, however, Atlas didn't hide in the corner to ride out the storm. She did just as Lot's Wife and the Pelekai Family had done, and turned on her television.

Next door to Atlas, Experiment 4-9-8, or as Lilo had called her, Floods, was sitting in her small home. She had boarded up her home twelve hours prior, and was feeling rather exhausted from all that physical activity. It was barely a year after her activation, and she'd never had to do anything like this before. Now, Floods had special powers to keep the water away from her own home, at the detriment of her two next-door neighbors, but she didn't have the power to ward off the wind. Like everyone else, she sat in front of her television, waiting the storm out inside her boarded-up home.

…Five hours later…4:00 AM (Hawaiian Standard Time)...Tuesday, August 15, 2006…

Hurricane Ioke was now sixty-five miles south of Kauai. Its outer rain bands were affecting everyone on the island with heavy rain and winds to fifty knots. With no signs of the storm weakening, everyone just sat tight, not knowing if they would live to see Wednesday morning.

Lot's Wife had fallen asleep four hours earlier. Unbeknownst to her, Shrink had shrunk himself down, in order to gain access to their front door. He'd wriggled himself between the boards sealing the door, climbed up to the knob, and opened it, letting himself in. He also fell asleep, not wanting to wake Lot's Wife.

Atlas and Floods played text tag throughout the last four hours. When one girl would text, the other would reply with something she thought would keep her calm. They were both still inside their small homes, listening to the wind and rain increase in intensity with every passing rain band.

At the Pelekai home, Jumba and Pleakley had fallen asleep at around midnight. Lilo and Nani had also fallen asleep, at around one o'clock. Stitch and Angel, however, were wide awake, watching the television while making out on the floor in front of the sofa. Eventually, however, they, too, fell asleep.

…Six Hours Later…10:00 AM (Hawaiian Standard Time)…Tuesday, August 15, 2006…

Hurricane Ioke was now just twenty-five miles offshore. Its northern eyewall had just begun to impact the homes at the southern apex of Kauai. The three experiments who lived on the southern shore were experiencing the strongest winds of Ioke, and were completely defenseless in their disintegrating houses. Further north, the four experiments who lived in the center of the island were experiencing winds to one hundred knots, or category three force. Their homes were beginning to feel the strain of the strong winds. There was no power anywhere on Kauai, so none of them could reach anyone for help. Even further north, at the Pelekai home, the winds were now at sixty-five knots, or category one force. The family were still asleep, so none of them knew of the events occurring further to the south.

…Three Hours Later…1:00 PM (Hawaiian Standard Time)…Tuesday, August 15, 2006…

Hurricane Ioke has passed. All of the experiment homes on the southern shore of Kauai were completely gone. Ioke had wiped out the entire shoreline, too. The three experiments who lost their homes had burrowed deep underground to protect themselves from the wind and rain. Further north, the four experiments who lived in the center of the island were safer, though their homes sustained major damage. By the time it had reached them, Ioke had weakened to a low-end category three storm. The winds at this point never made it past one hundred knots. Even yet, some isolated pockets of category four damage existed to the south and west of their homes. Further north, at the Pelekai home, the family had awoken to discover that Ioke's winds and rains had left them relatively unscathed. By the time it had reached this point, Ioke had weakened to a low-end category one storm, with winds of sixty-five knots; more like a summertime thunderstorm over the Central Mainland United States.

Now that the storm had passed, Stitch and Angel began taking down all the boards that sealed their home off from the outside world. They then went outside to survey the damage. Not that far south of the house, there was widespread category-two damage, from the storm moving through that portion of the island at that strength. Walking further south, they began to encounter category-three and category-four damage, until they reached the southern apex of the island, where they ran into a clean slate. At this point, right where Ioke had made landfall, there wasn't a single building left standing. Angel then looked to her left and saw three holes in the sand. She sent Stitch down into the first of them. In it, he found Lot's Wife, shivering, obviously afraid. She joined him as they made their way back up to the surface. Angel and Lot's Wife then went down into the remaining two holes, pulling up Shrink and Silbert.

As the five experiments made their way further north, they came across Floods, Atlas, Phosphor, and Newton. They invited them to come back to the Pelekai home with them, an offer which the four experiments accepted. Even though their homes were not that badly damaged by Ioke, the four experiments accompanied their five cousins because they knew that Lilo would have jobs for all of them. They looked for four more experiments to join them. A little further north, they encountered Toons, (Experiment 1-1-2) and Queasy, (Experiment 3-6-5). These two then joined the group. Already at the Pelekai home, Friday, (Experiment 5-8-0) and Experiment 6-2-8 also joined the group, rounding the number of helpers out at thirteen.

…Two Hours Later…3:00 PM (Hawaiian Standard Time)…Tuesday, August 15, 2006…

Once back at the Pelekai home, all eleven experiments joined 5-8-0 and 6-2-8 at the front door. Lilo addressed them a few minutes later. She began by commending them for surviving the storm, then, she said, "Tomorrow, we begin the cleanup! Each of you will help the people in a specific area. Lot's Wife, Shrink, and Silbert; you will all take the southern third of the Island. Toons, Floods, Phosphor, Atlas, and Newton; you will have jurisdiction over the central third of the Island. Stitch, Angel, Queasy, Friday, and 6-2-8 you will each have jurisdiction over the northern third of the Island. Good Luck and God Bless."

Then, Lilo and the thirteen experiments went inside the Pelekai home to rest before their jobs began. They had no television or radio, so the fourteen friends just sat around and told stories to each other for the rest of the afternoon.

…Seven hours later…10:00 PM (Hawaiian Standard Time)…Tuesday, August 15, 2006…

Nani, Jumba, and Pleakley had gone to bed three hours earlier, so that left Lilo and the thirteen experiments. Lilo, Stitch, Angel, 6-2-8, and Queasy had boarded the lift first, arriving in the rooftop dome. Next, Lot's Wife, Shrink, Silbert, Floods, and Toons boarded it, also arriving in the rooftop dome. Finally, Friday, Atlas, Phosphor, and Newton boarded it, completing the use of the lift for the night. Nine of the thirteen experiments elected to sleep on the floor, while Stitch and Angel slept on their bed and 6-2-8 slept in her bed. Friday jumped back into her place on Lilo's wall and fell asleep there. All fourteen of these guys had a big day tomorrow, so none of them could afford to stay up all night. Each slept more soundly than they had the previous night.

…End of Chapter…More coming soon…