Hawaii's tourists relax on the beach as storm-hit residents struggle

Tourists in Oahu and other popular parts of Hawaii returned to the beaches and residents lined up to vote in primary elections on Saturday, a day after Tropical Storm Iselle struck without causing a widespread disaster.

However, a large rural part of Big Island has been without electricity for a day and a half and is struggling to clear many fallen trees that are blocking roads.

On the island of Kauai, the body of a 19-year-old woman was found. It is believed she was swept away in a stream on Friday while hiking in a closed park during a tropical storm warning.

Iselle made landfall over Big Island's lower Puna region - a sparsely populated, mostly agricultural area - in the isolated southeastern part of the island, bringing with it heavy rain and violent winds that toppled trees.

Yet umbrellas, surfboards and kayaks were back in use on Saturday at Waikiki Beach. Although it remained damp and cloudy at the popular tourist spot people were still jogging, swimming and lying on the beach as the focus shifted towards Hurricane Julio.

The storm was expected to pass about 255km northeast of the islands at its closest point yesterday and linger in the area today.