Hurricane Lowell hit Kauai overnight Monday into Tuesday, passing west of the island and leaving nearly the entire county without power. Roads were a mess, coastal infrastructure was destroyed, and residents are now faced with a massive clean up effort.
By the time the sun came up on Tuesday, September 8, Kauai Island Utility Cooperative was reporting that 33,000 of its 36,000 customers were without power — roughly 92% of the island. Sustained winds topped 50 mph with gusts recorded at 75 to 85 mph in several locations. The rain was heavy and went on for hours and hours.
The North Shore took a beating with trees down across roads, flash floods running through neighborhoods, streams over their banks. Rescue crews airlifted hundreds of people stranded by washed-out roads throughout Tuesday and Wednesday.
The South Shore got hit heavy during the peak of the storms. Waves reached the first floor of the Sheraton Kauai Resort in Poipu. Homes fronting Brennecke’s Beach were battered by shorebreak that reached far above the high-tide line. The Beach House Restaurant took direct wave impact.
The West Side was pummeled and reshaped by the hurricanes force winds and wave impact. The Waimea Pier — a fixture of the island’s coastal identity for generations — was washed out entirely by storm surge. Boulders were moved across Kaumualiʻi Highway by wave action, and utility lines running along the coast were damaged. West Kauai residents were still assessing damage as of Wednesday morning.
Civil Beat described parts of the island as looking “like a war scene.” A West Kauai resident who rode out the storm told Hawaii News Now: “I was shaking.”
If you’re in a position to support the recovery, the American Red Cross and Hawaii Community Foundation are both accepting donations for storm relief efforts. Local mutual aid networks are also spinning up quickly — keep an eye out for direct relief organizations and we’ll share more info as it becomes available.
Related: Hurricane Marie Never Made Landfall in California. She Destroyed the Coast Anyway.
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