Flossie Nears Hawaii Big Island; Little Insured Loss Anticipated

Hurricane Flossie was approaching the big island Hawaii today as a Category 2 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, a downgrade from yesterday's threat of Category 4.

In the most recent hurricane advisory from the National Weather Service, the storm has sustained winds of 110 mph and may weaken further over the next 24 hours. The Big Island is expected to receive tropical storm force winds of 30 mph or higher by mid-morning.

Steve Smith, senior vice president of ReAdvisory, a subsidiary of Carvill a reinsurance broker, said yesterday in a statement that the island can expect heavy downpours as the storm passes.

The NWS is predicting rain fall amounts of 10 inches and surf rising by 20 to 25 feet.

The Insurance Information Institute noted that the last major hurricane to strike Hawaii was Iniki in 1992, the 13th most costly hurricane in U.S. history with nearly $2.3 billion in insured losses.

Peter Dailey, director of atmospheric science for Boston-based AIR Worldwide, a subsidiary of Jersey City, N.J.-based Insurance Services Office, said in a statement today that "unless Flossie takes an unexpected turn northward turn, AIR does not expect any significant insured losses to result."

The island area was also hit by 5.3 magnitude earthquake that struck 25 miles South of Hilo. AIR said there have been no reports of insured losses.

In the Atlantic, the National Hurricane Center issued advisories for Tropical Storm Dean with sustained winds of 40 mph. The storm is 1,030 miles west of the southern most Cape Verdes Islands and 1,490 miles east of the Lesser Antilles and is expected to strengthen over the next 24 hours as it tracks toward Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo, possibly reaching that region by Sunday. Forecasters say it could reach hurricane strength by Friday.