A spokesperson for Oprah Winfrey has denied accusations that a private road running through her estate on the Hawaiian island of Maui remained closed as local residents attempted to move to higher ground following a tsunami warning overnight.
A statement issued to the media said staff managing running the estate had immediately cooperated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as news of the potential tsunami broke.
“As soon as we heard the tsunami warnings, we contacted local law enforcement and FEMA to ensure the road was opened. Any reports otherwise are false,’ it read.
The actress and former talk show host is among a raft of stars and high-profile figures who own property on Hawaii’s second largest island of Maui alongside the likes of Woody Harrelson, Jeff Bezos and Owen Wilson.
Her $100m pad features a private road connecting the coastal area of Wailea to the uplands of Kula via an inland route.
The statement, which followed in the wake of multiple social media posts suggesting the road was closed, was also backed up by the Maui Police Department, which, in an earlier advisory, announced that “Oprah’s road is open to get Upcountry.”
Hawaii was among a number of territories issued with tsunami alerts following a massive earthquake off Russia’s Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula early on Wednesday local time. Measuring 8.8 on the Richer scale, Russian scientists said it was the strongest quake to hit the region since 1952.
The alerts have since been downgraded across most of the Pacific to advisories.
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