(Reuters] – Hawaii prepared for additional rainfall Tuesday following torrential downpours on the Pacific islands chain that caused flooding. Landslide warnings were issued and the state was forced to act in an emergency.

The National Weather Service stated that a stalled “kona-low” weather system produced up to 30 cm (30 inches) of rain in three days. However, actual rainfall amounts were very different across the mountainous terrain.

Bob Oravec from the NWS Weather Prediction Center, College Park in Maryland stated that this is a “typical pattern for Hawaii” and can bring heavy rain.

Oravec explained that although it doesn’t happen everyday, “it can occur every year.”

Through Tuesday afternoon, flash flood watches were posted by the NWS to Oahu, Oahu’s most populous, and Kauai for Kauai, Oahu’s western-most islands. Every island was forecast to see another 2-4 inches (5-7-10 cm) rain.

In a bulletin sent by his Honolulu Office, the NWS stated that large-scale rain events can lead to catastrophic flooding in areas where they are not normally affected. In areas of steep terrain, there are likely to be many landslides.

On Monday, Governor David Ige issued an emergency declaration. This will be in effect until Friday.

Ige stated in a statement that the emergency declaration allowed the state to make use of funds to aid state and county efforts to provide quick and effective relief for suffering, damages, and losses due to flooding and other consequences of heavy rains.

According to the Honolulu Fire Department, five persons were saved from a flood stream that was near Oahu’s Pali Highway Monday night.

According to the Oahu Department of Emergency Management, four shelters were established in Honolulu.

The Department of Education stated that most schools would open on Tuesday. PowerOutage.US reported only a few instances of power outages across the country.

The storm also delivered snow and winds to Big Island’s mountain tops a few day ago. This included Mauna Kea which is a dormant volcano, where Canada-France—Hawaii Telescope Observatory (CFH Telescope), observatory, is located. According to the NWS, such snowfalls at high elevations is “fairly frequent.”

According to the NWS, most of the rain is already moving away from the east-most islands of Hawaii and Maui. The rest of the island chains should be cleared by Tuesday.