Hawaii braces for 'life threatening' hit from Hurricane Lane

Hawaii residents are bracing for "life threatening" winds and flooding when Hurricane Lane hits the US islands this week, potentially uprooting trees and causing rivers to overflow their banks, according to the National Weather Service.

The hurricane strengthened to a major Category 4 storm on Tuesday and was expected to hit Hawaii's Big Island on Thursday with winds capable of damaging roofs and knocking out power, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned.

"The center of Lane will track dangerously close to, or over the islands Thursday through Saturday," a warning statement read. "Major impacts are likely in some areas."

After hitting the Big Island, the storm is expected to churn north over the islands of Maui, Lanai and Moloka'i, which were all under hurricane and flash flood watches.

Rainfall of 20 inches (51 cm) in some areas could lead to major flash flooding, landslides and mudslides, the NWS said.

Winds and flooding may make locations uninhabitable for weeks and authorities warned Hawaii residents to be prepared to evacuate their homes.

The Big Island is still reeling from a three-month eruption of Kilauea Volcano, which forced thousands of residents to evacuate their homes and engulfed hundreds of structures in lava.