Jellyfish again pose risk of stings
Advertiser Staff
The swimming areas between the Kapahulu groin and Duke Kahanamoku's statue at Kuhio Beach were closed yesterday because of a large influx of box jellyfish.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
Two people required hospital treatment after being stung at about 9 a.m. yesterday while in that beach area. From 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., lifeguards reported treating 50 people at Kuhio Beach.
Signs were posted at the beach near Sans Souci in Waikiki yesterday to warn of the box jellyfish hazard. A section of Waikiki Beach between Kapahulu Avenue and the Duke Kahanamoku statue was closed to swimmers.
More than 1,000 box jellyfish were found yesterday morning on Kuhio Beach, said Rob Miller of the city Ocean Safety Division. He said lifeguards usually find 150 to 300 box jellyfish on the first day of an influx, which occurs 10 days after a full moon.
Lifeguards found about 30 box jellyfish at Ala Moana.
Miller said box jellyfish will be around through tomorrow.
Miller advises that people with known allergies to stings should stay out of the water. Lifeguards are equipped to treat stings, but an effective treatment is to apply vinegar, he said.
Other coastal areas sometimes affected by box jellyfish invasions are Hanauma Bay and north- and west-facing shorelines such as Waimea Bay and popular beach sites like 'Ehukai, Sunset, Ma'ili and Makaha.
