Hawaii has weathered its share of natural disasters in 2018 – first flooding on Kauai, then volcanic eruptions and earthquakes on the Big Island of Hawaii – and things aren’t over yet. Now, residents on the islands are stocking up and bracing for gale-force winds, waves and rain as Hurricane Lane heads their way.

The rare category 4 hurricane comes just two weeks after another, Hurricane Hector, threatened to pound the island chain, but passed to the south, inflicting almost no damage.

But preparations for Lane felt different, and with good reason. On Tuesday, the storm was briefly upgraded to category 5, and the state issued an emergency declaration that closed public schools and government offices. By Wednesday, businesses, parks, golf courses and zoos were also preparing to close as evacuation shelters were opening.

On Tuesday night, Lane, which on Wednesday had 155 mph winds, became one of only two recorded category 5 hurricanes to pass within 350 miles of the Big Island. The last was Hurricane John in 1994, according to the National Weather Service, although that storm never made landfall. Some residents on Oahu said they were now recalling the damage done to their island in 1992 by Hurricane Iniki, which caused six deaths and $3.1bn of damage. On the island of Kauai, which was the hardest hit by that storm, more than 1,400 houses were destroyed.

“Just because it’s sunny in some places right now doesn’t mean people should think they’re safe,” Bob Burke, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said on Wednesday afternoon.

Around the islands, residents prepared for the storm. Midday lines for gas ran outside of parking lots as residents rushed to refuel their cars.

Meanwhile, most of the big-box stores that residents rely on – including Target, Safeway, and Costco – were sold out of bottled water. Other emergency supplies, such as generators, battery-powered radios, and candles, were also sold out. In some stores, even canned food was sold out.

By Wednesday, Lane had been downgraded to a category 4 storm but still warranted hurricane warnings for Hawaii and Maui islands – which will be the first hit as the storm moves north-west. Oahu and Kauai were under a hurricane watch.

Hawaii has been grappling with eruptions from the Kilauea volcano. Photograph: HO/AFP/Getty Images

Some businesses said they planned to close early Wednesday until further notice, or made preparations for high winds. In Kahului, Maui, where residents often feel the bluster of normal offshore tradewinds, employees at Ulta Beauty had boarded up the store’s floor length front windows with plywood.

The island’s $17bn tourism industry is also being affected by the storm. On Tuesday, Hawaiian airlines began offering travel waivers to anyone traveling to or from the islands from 21 to 26 August.

“Our lines have been busy,” Tara Shimooka, a spokesperson for Hawaiian Airlines, said.

The hotels that host the state’s 9.1 million annual visitors were also making preparations. A security manager at the Royal Hawaiian hotel in Waikiki, Oahu, said that the hotel had a “40-page” hurricane plan that the staff was being briefed on, and that some guests who had planned to check out and fly home had already extended their stays.

Based on current predictions, hurricane-force winds could hit the Big Island by late Wednesday afternoon. Maui is expected to be hit next, followed by the islands of Oahu and Kauai.

According to Burke, the storm is expected to have peaked already, and to gradually diminish in strength over the coming days. But he also cautioned that the storm was unusual.

“That makes it hard to predict,” he said.

On the Big Island, emergency warnings about the Kilauea volcano’s eruptions have been replaced by warnings about Hurricane Lane. Residents of the easternmost part of the island have faced lava flows and earthquakes since May. In the last few weeks, lava flows had begun to slow and volcanic eruptions that had shaken the island – sometimes with hundreds of earthquakes daily – had become less frequent.

Like some residents on the Big Island, Kauai residents are still recovering from the last disaster. Between 13 and 16 April, Kauai and Oahu were hit by record rains that totaled 50in in 24 hours. The rain caused serious damage, compromised 532 homes and required some residents to be rescued by boat.

At a press conference, Hawaii’s governor, David Ige, recommended that Hawaii families have a two-week emergency supply of food and water on hand.