Alaska Airlines is pausing flights to Hawaii, where an emergency proclamation is issued ahead of tsunami waves expected to hit the islands Tuesday evening. “As a safety precaution, flights en route to Hawaii are returning to the mainland or diverting as needed,” a spokesperson for the airline said in an email.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hawaiian and Alaska Airlines issued the following statement: “We are monitoring a tsunami warning for the Hawaiian Islands and portions of the state of Alaska and assessing our flight operations. We are holding flight departures to the Islands on Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines.

While emergency sirens warned of an impeding tsunami Tuesday, Hurricane Iona slipped by the south of the Hawaiian Islands, continuing on a 20-mph westward track away from the islands. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Keli was almost directly south of Hawaiʻi Island as of 5 a.m. this morning, also moving west but at 21 mph.

Hurricane Iona was expected to move westward and does not pose any land threat to the Hawaiian Islands, forecasters said.

H urricane Iona has rapidly strengthened in the Pacific Ocean well south of Hawaii, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). It marks the first hurricane in the central Pacific Ocean this year.