The devastation in Hawaii from Hurricane Lala became abundantly clear Tuesday, as new images showed how landslides set off by up to 43 inches of rain, wiped out homes and businesses in small communities on the southern end of the Big Island.

All public schools and state and county offices remain closed as officials urged people to stay off the roads while recovery and cleanup efforts continue.

More than 70,000 homes and businesses were without power by midday Tuesday, down from about 150,000 on Monday according to PowerOutage.us.

(MORE: Lala recap by the numbers)

Lala is blamed for one death - the body of a 90-year-old woman was found Monday after a search of the destruction in the Naalehu neighborhood.

The flooding proved to be more destructive than the wind, said Gov. Josh Green, who flew over and walked through the south part of the island Monday.

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“It’s the flood and the mud and the rock the poured through Naalehu, Pahala, Waiohinu,” he said. “These communities have a lot of cleanup to do and they’re going to need a lot of support.”

The storm was projected to continue moving westward and was forecast to become a hurricane again at sea and far from land by Wednesday.

The path of Lala

Lala was a hurricane when it brushed closest to Hawaii’s Big Island Saturday night. The storm didn't make landfall but it still lashed the region with strong winds and drenching rain that flooded roads and turned rivers into raging torrents.

Lala became only the fifth hurricane since 1957 to pass within 70 miles of the Big Island, according to NOAA's historical database.

Dangerous weather conditions strike

Wind gusts from 50 to 90 mph were measured over the mountainous terrain of the Big Island, Maui County and into Oahu. Instruments atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii's tallest mountain, measured a 154-mph wind gust early Saturday afternoon.

The heavy rains and strong winds swept around 100 homes off their foundations on the Big Island, officials said.

Cynthia Channels, a local organizer who works with unhoused people and families in need, drove around Oahu in her pickup truck, assessing damage. For her, the wind has been the worst part of the storm.

“The winds are really bad, people’s shingles are falling off the roofs,” Channels said.

The rainfall was extreme, with more than 30 inches measured in just 24 hours, which sent raging torrents down mountainsides. By Sunday, more than 42 inches of rainfall was reported on the Big Island's northern coast.

(MORE: Empty shelves, long gas lines as Lala closes in on Hawaii)

The Honolulu Fire Department had received more than 600 weather-related responses by noon local time Sunday, including 147 reports of downed trees. There were also roofs blown off, downed power lines and one swimmer who had to be rescued, a city statement said.

A beloved bakery is damaged

The Punalu’u Bake Shop in Naalehu, Big Island, a tourist hotspot and major local employer, was severely damaged. Zachary Kennedy, the manager of the Hawaiian sweet bread bakery, said water rushed through their factories and retail store, leaving behind around three feet of mud.

“This is a different level of damage, it’s literally catastrophic,” Kennedy said.

Kate McLellan, a resident on Oahu’s North Shore, was still waiting for the worst of the storm after her power went out Sunday morning, glued to the weather network.

In March and April, her community was hit by back-to-back storms with heavy rain and high winds, keeping residents on high alert. Memories of that storm were “giving that same uncertainty and hesitation and panic and anxiety,” McLellan said.

(MORE: The worst flooding Oahu, Hawaii saw in over two decades)

Nicole Clark has been sheltering in place on Kauai and is prepared to stay there after her school was canceled Monday for her kids because of a tree blocking a road. Still, she said she’s inspired and comforted by the sense of community established across Hawaii during storms like this.

“It’s a good feeling during hard times,” Clark said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.