India, Aug. 16 -- Hawaii's Big Island is threatened Saturday with its first possible direct hit from a hurricane in 155 years as Hurricane Lala roared in the Pacific Ocean and gusty wind, waves and rain pounded the region.

The National Hurricane Center said Lala's maximum sustained winds increased to 120 kmph, making it a Category 1 hurricane. The storm's centre was forecast to move over or near the island's southern end by the evening, lashing its worst winds at volcanic slopes thousands of feet above sea level.

Whitecap surf slammed ashore nonstop, howling winds whipped the tops of palm trees, and waterways swelled with fast-moving runoff from relentless rain that blew nearly sideways.

Gov Josh Green, noting rainfall of 5 cm an hour,...