The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Honolulu

The island of Oahu lost power Friday evening in the midst of heavy rain and lightning, leaving some 800,000 residents and thousands of tourists in the dark, as well as the neighborhood where President-elect Barack Obama was vacationing.

Residents were being advised by the power company and civil authorities to get to their homes and store water. Several radio stations were broadcasting emergency information. Gov. Linda Lingle said that Hawaiian Electric Light was taking an emergency generator to the compound on the east side of the island where Obama has been staying. Lingle said she had asked the utility to notify her when it had been delivered.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann told KSSK radio that Obama is in one of the "most secure places, so he'll be OK."

The outage closed stores at major retail outlets just after sunset, halting post-Christmas shopping a couple of hours early.

Residents were trapped in parking lots and highways were clogged as everyone tried to get home at once. The rain had mostly stopped by Friday night.

Hawaiian Electric Light spokesman Peter Rosegg said the initial power outage hit at 6:45 p.m., knocking out electricity to most of the island. The rest of Oahu lost power two hours later when a second generator failed.

Lingle said she expected power to be restored by morning. The cause of the outage was being investigated.

Lingle said the utility had asked the state to fly a helicopter at daylight so it can inspect power lines on a mountain ridge that it fears may be damaged.

Outgoing flights were grounded at Honolulu International Airport for several hours, until emergency generators restored power. United Airlines had postponed flights until morning but other airlines' flights were departing, Lingle said.

The other Hawaiian islands have separate power grids.