Washington, Aug 22 (EFE).- The United States Department of Defense on Wednesday ordered the withdrawal of the fleet based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as the island waits for Hurricane Lane.
“Based on the current track of the storm, we made the decision to begin to sortie the Pearl Harbor-based ships,” Rear Adm. Brian Fort said in a release. “This allows the ships enough time to transit safely out of the path of the storm.”
The order includes all Navy ships and submarines based in Hawaii not undergoing maintenance, while aircraft will be secured in hangars or flown to other airfields to “avoid the effects of the hurricane.”
The fleet will not move far from the archipelago in case the authorities request help in emergency response tasks once the storm has passed, the note adds.
Lane, now a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 250 km/h (155 mph), is now some 500 km (310.7 mi) south of the archipelago.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders on Wednesday said that President Donald Trump has instructed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate efforts with Hawaiian authorities in case they need assistance.