Hurricane Lowell Recovery Updates

Kauaʻi is in Day 25 of recovery from Hurricane Lowell. Debris pickup in Wainiha and Hāʻena is scheduled for Friday, weather permitting, with crews working as far as roads are accessible.

Place items along the county or state right-of-way, since crews cannot pick up from private property. Sort piles into appliances, metals and construction debris. Green waste and propane tanks will not be taken. If crews miss you on the first pass, they will return.

Emergency food distributions today: Hale Līhuʻe, 4286 Rice St., 3 to 5 p.m., and Holy Cross Church, 2-2370 Kaumualiʻi Hwy., 4 to 5 p.m.

Households that lost food during power outages may qualify for replacement SNAP benefits. State Department of Human Services staff will be at the Hanalei hurricane resource center on Oct. 6 and Oct. 8.

The Kauaʻi Bus resumed regular fare collection on Oct. 1. KIUC has restored power to most of the island, but full restoration in Kōkeʻe is still several weeks away.

“There's an opportunity here to get everybody together.”

Brittany Schwartz, owner, Hanalei Burger

Hurricane Lowell's winds sent a table flying into the Hanalei Burger food truck, damaging its frame, separating the roof and letting rain pour in. Owner Brittany Schwartz filed an insurance claim. It was denied.

The day after the storm, with her own home also damaged, Schwartz made a choice. Rather than let meat spoil in a truck with no power, she gave away 300 burgers to a community waking up to disaster. Since then, Hanalei Burger has been sponsoring meals for the crews fixing roads and restoring electricity.

Small businesses like hers may now qualify for Chamber of Commerce Hawaii recovery grants of $5,000 or $10,000 for Lowell losses not covered by insurance.

As Kauaʻi moves into long-term recovery, the island is still waiting to learn whether President Trump will release federal disaster funding.

The Governor's Office estimates damage and recovery costs at about $112 million. Its count is 247 damaged homes, including 10 destroyed and 67 with major damage.

In Hāʻena and Wainiha, the focus is shifting to helping residents get safely back home.

Just down the road from Sloggett, Scouting America's Aloha Council has launched a recovery fund for Camp Alan Faye after Lowell badly damaged the 29-acre Scout camp.

A Sept. 17 assessment found downed trees, blocked roads and campsites, roof and structural damage, and broken windows. The camp is closed to all visitors until further notice while safety work continues.

From RYLA weekends at Camp Sloggett to checking on kūpuna after the storm, Rotary shows up for Kauaʻi. This year the Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay's Vacation for Giving fundraiser sends every dollar to Hurricane Lowell relief, with a focus on food security, home repair and the needs that surface in the months ahead, in partnership with Mālama Kauaʻi.

Donors of $50 or more receive entries in a donation-based drawing as a thank-you. The grand prize is 6 days and 5 nights at The Cliffs at Princeville, round-trip airfare for two from the West Coast, a rental car, $500 in dining certificates and Kauaʻi activities, or $2,500 cash.

Entries close November 20. You can also give directly to the Hurricane Lowell North Shore Recovery Fund.

The YWCA of Kauaʻi says Camp Sloggett, its historic mountain camp in Kōkeʻe and a gathering place for Kauaʻi since 1921, is on the road to recovery. Updates, volunteer info and ways to donate are on their website.

For Rotarians, this one is personal. Camp Sloggett is where the five Rotary clubs of Kauaʻi host RYLA, the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards: a weekend leadership camp for high school students, facilitated by Leadership Kauaʻi.

It's an extraordinary two-day experience that helps young people build confidence, self-esteem and leadership skills they likely won't find in a regular high school curriculum. Seeing the camp come back means more of our keiki will get that weekend in the mountains.

Recovery won't be quick in Kōkeʻe. KIUC says full power restoration there is still several weeks away.

After floodwaters closed it early Wednesday, Kūhiō Highway near the Hanalei Bridge reopened to one lane by 9 a.m. and both lanes by mid-morning, once the Flash Flood Warning was canceled.

The rain did set some things back. North Shore debris pickup was canceled Wednesday and moves to today and Friday, weather permitting, working from Wainiha through Hāʻena. Crews take furniture, appliances, metals and construction debris from the right of way, but not green waste or propane tanks. The Kīlauea and Kapaʻa green waste sites are closed today because of mud.

Regular Kauaʻi Bus fares resume today, now that fare-free service has ended.

Food distributions: today at Westside Christian Center in Kekaha and ʻĀina Hoʻokupu O Kīlauea, and Friday at Hale Līhuʻe and Holy Cross Church. Households that lost food in the outages may qualify for replacement SNAP benefits, and state staff will be at the Hanalei resource center Oct. 6 and 8.

Anaina Hou Community Park is still without power, but its generator kept running, keeping food fresh and letting the park serve free hot meals from its food truck to anyone who needed one.

Its walk-in refrigerator also became storage and prep space for the Hanalei and Kīlauea elementary school lunch programs.

The playground came through and reopened, though the mini golf course was hit hard by fallen trees and Tripp's Hale was severely damaged. The park is asking for extra aloha and patience as it takes things one day at a time.

More than a week after Lowell flooded the North Shore, Lindsey Friedberg and her husband, Ricky Ewing, were still pumping water off their property. Without power they couldn't run the air purifier they'd relied on in past floods, so Lindsey and the kids stayed with a friend.

Neighbors have reported black, mucky sediment, odors, headaches and worries about standing water. Lindsey says water usually takes a week or two to drop, and the yard can take a month or two to recover.

With more rain falling this week, families like theirs are facing the second round before the first has drained.

Kauaʻi small businesses hurt by Hurricane Lowell can now apply for recovery grants. The Kauaʻi Hurricane Lowell Business Recovery Grant Program, a partnership between the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii and the State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, will distribute $2 million to non-agricultural businesses on the island.

Grants are $5,000 for micro enterprises (under $250,000 in annual revenue) and $10,000 for small businesses ($250,000 to $5 million).

To qualify, at least one owner must be a Hawaiʻi resident, the business must have been operating on Kauaʻi and registered with DCCA before September 7, and the grant must cover storm losses not already paid by insurance or other aid.

Apply online at kauaibusinessrecovery.org, or call 808-210-6839 for help, which is available in seven languages.

The County has now documented more than 1,000 resident damage assessments, with 16 homes destroyed and 40 severely damaged.

Deadline alert: today, Sept. 30, is the last day to file real property tax exemption applications, and no extensions will be granted. Separately, owners of storm-damaged property have until June 30, 2027 to file for disaster tax relief.

The Kauaʻi Bus resumes regular fares Thursday. Debris pickup continues in Wainiha and Hāʻena Wednesday and Thursday, weather permitting, from the right of way only.

Emergency food distributions: Oct. 1 at Westside Christian Center in Kekaha and ʻĀina Hoʻokupu O Kīlauea; Oct. 2 at Hale Līhuʻe and Holy Cross Church.

The Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay has launched Vacation for Giving. In most years this fundraiser supports scholarships and groups like the Kīlauea Community Agricultural Center; this year every dollar goes to Hurricane Lowell relief.

The club's focus is the needs that surface a couple of months after a disaster, once the first wave of help moves on: food security, home repair and more, in partnership with Mālama Kauaʻi.

Donors of $50 or more receive entries in a donation-based drawing as a thank-you, with more entries for larger gifts. The grand prize: 6 days and 5 nights at The Cliffs at Princeville, round-trip airfare for two from the West Coast, a rental car for the week, $500 in dining certificates, and a couple of Kauaʻi activities, or $2,500 cash.

Entries close November 20, 2026. Prefer to simply give? There's a tax-deductible option that goes straight to the Hurricane Lowell North Shore Recovery Fund.

As someone who's watched this community pull together every day since Labor Day weekend, I can tell you: this is aloha you can see in action.

Kūhiō Highway at the Hanalei Bridge closed early this morning as the Hanalei River rose over the road. HDOT crews are on scene, and the National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Warning for Kauaʻi.

Hanalei Elementary is closed to students and staff today because flooding near the bridge has cut off safe access to the school.

Nolo weakened to a tropical storm overnight and is moving away, but forecasters expect an additional 2 to 6 inches of rain across Kauaʻi and Niʻihau through Thursday, with storm totals up to 10 inches.

If you're on the far North Shore, stay put. Don't cross moving water in your car or on foot. For road status call 808-241-1725; please save 911 for emergencies.

Team Rubicon, the veteran-led group that's been leading debris removal, tree clearing, and roof tarping across the island, wrapped up its deployment this week, and no replacement national team is currently scheduled. VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster) says it's tracking more than 500 open cleanup requests, with new ones arriving daily.

"Local residents have been making a lot of personal sacrifices," said Mālama Kaua'i volunteer Laurie Roberts, "but they can't sustain this level." Because Kaua'i is only reachable by air or sea, getting outside volunteer teams, faith networks, unions, and contractors here matters more than usual.

It's local volunteers like Mark Wolfendale, President of the Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay, who are filling the gap in the meantime, seen here delivering food to kupuna at a Princeville condo.

Mālama Kaua'i posted a "2.5 week update" this weekend with a clear message: don't lose momentum. "Community response and resiliency is happening... together we're all working from Ha'ena to Koke'e with so much greater collaboration than we've ever seen before," the organization wrote, calling it something to be proud of "as an isolated island in the middle of nowhere." But it was also a caution: with media attention fading and off-island crews heading home, life is returning to normal for many, "for them, it's not."

More than 100 local families still don't have a safe, long-term home, per Mālama Kaua'i, a number that tracks with other reporting: community members have been asking vacation rental owners in Wainiha and Hā'ena, where roughly 80 of the area's 400 housing units are short-term rentals, to open their properties to the 50 to 75 North Shore residents still needing a place to stay.

The organization's other ask is economic: support local businesses through kama'āina specials, fundraiser nights, and volunteer workdays. Tourism has taken a hard hit since Lowell, the Musubi Truck laid off 25 employees and Kaua'i Juice Co. saw sales drop 85 percent.

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, who own a large compound on Kaua'i, donated $2.3 million to the Hawai'i Community Foundation's Kaua'i Strong Fund after Hurricane Lowell, on top of direct donations to grassroots organizations. It's part of a broader pattern: the couple's Chan Zuckerberg Kaua'i Community Fund has committed more than $100 million to over 100 local organizations since 2016.

They're not alone. Salesforce founders Marc and Lynne Benioff, who have a home on Hawai'i Island, donated $1 million to the Hawai'i Community Foundation's Stronger Hawai'i fund after Hurricane Lala, $250,000 through DonorsChoose for teachers affected by earlier storms, and are funding new fire department equipment. Not every prominent part-time resident has stepped up the same way, Larry Ellison, who owns 98 percent of Lāna'i, hasn't made a public statement about relief there since Lowell damaged the island's port.

Private giving like this is filling part of the gap while Lowell's federal Major Disaster Declaration, requested September 9, is still pending.

KIUC restored Wainiha and Ha'ena five days ago, but full restoration in Koke'e is expected to take several more weeks given the extent of the damage there, the utility said this weekend.

Offshore, Hurricane Nolo intensified dramatically over the weekend, jumping from a Category 2 to a Category 4 hurricane with 115 mph winds, now about 400 miles south-southwest of Honolulu. It's tracking toward the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, expected to arrive there Tuesday, well clear of the main Hawaiian Islands. No watches or warnings are in effect for Kaua'i, but expect dangerous surf from Nolo's swells over the coming days.

A couple of small wins this weekend: the Department of Water lifted its conservation notice for Ha'ena and Wainiha, and Wailua Golf Course reopened its front nine. Two deadlines remain this week: real property tax exemption applications are due Wednesday, September 30 (no extensions), and Kaua'i Bus fares are waived through the same date.

“Meaningful support often begins with meeting people where they are," Alfiler said, "and offering something as basic as personal care necessities.”

When the Kapule Building fire postponed Kaua'i RSVP's original 9/11 Day of Service project, volunteers didn't cancel, they picked a new day. Working with the County's Agency on Elderly Affairs, RSVP director Andrea Alfiler and board member Gerald Ako led volunteers assembling hygiene packs for elderly residents, including those experiencing homelessness, for distribution through healthcare providers, hospitals, homeless outreach teams, housing organizations, and food banks.

Some kits will ride along with regular home food deliveries to homebound seniors, paired with disaster-preparedness supplies.

A question Malama Kaua'i executive director Megan Fox raised publicly this week is one a lot of us have been asking: why does Kaua'i already have federal help lined up for Nolo, a storm that may not even make landfall here, while Lowell's request is still sitting more than two weeks later? It comes down to two different kinds of declarations.

Nolo's declaration, approved September 25, is a pre-landfall Emergency Declaration covering all four counties. It unlocks a 75 percent federal share for specific emergency measures happening right now: search-and-rescue teams, large generators for hospitals and water systems, and debris removal. It does not include Individual Assistance for damaged homes, because Nolo hasn't caused that kind of damage.

Lowell's request, submitted September 9, is a Major Disaster Declaration, a bigger and slower process that would open Individual Assistance for households, funding to permanently repair public infrastructure, and Hazard Mitigation Grant funding for future storm-proofing. Kaua'i's preliminary public infrastructure damage estimate alone is about $93.7 million, on top of 247 homes affected, including 10 destroyed and 67 with major damage. Seventeen days after the state's expedited request, there's been no public explanation for the timeline from FEMA or the White House, so it's worth waiting for an actual answer rather than guessing at one.

KIUC has restored power to Wainiha and Ha'ena, the last major pockets of outages from Hurricane Lowell, though roughly 110 members remain without power in Koke'e as crews continue smaller repairs elsewhere on the island.

Offshore, the hurricane watch for Hawai'i County was canceled yesterday afternoon as Nolo kept moving away. It's now a Category 2 storm with 105 mph winds, about 260 miles southwest of South Point, still expected to strengthen into a major hurricane, with peak intensity now forecast for Monday. Kaua'i has no watches or warnings, but expect gusty trade winds up to 55 mph today and dangerous surf through Tuesday.

Three deadlines to know: real property tax exemption applications are due September 30 (no extensions), Kaua'i Bus fares are waived through September 30, and storm-damaged property owners have until June 30, 2027 to file for disaster tax relief.

The West side community has organized its own event to make sure people without computer access can apply for relief programs before deadlines pass, an especially hard-hit area asking any nonprofit or relief organization who can help to step in. "No logos or fancy events here," the announcement reads, "just community helping community."

West Side Hurricane Resource Help is this Saturday, September 26, 11am to 2pm, at Waimea Huaka'i Community Center, 4548 Carl Furutani St., Waimea. There's help applying for relief programs, resources to learn about, and ways to stay informed. Nonprofits and relief organizations who can kokua should plan to set up at 10am, and can contact @Kawaiehu on Instagram or call Tiffany Kanahele at (808) 357-8617.

At Kaua'i Community College, a survey found Hurricane Lowell disrupted class time or coursework for 80 percent of students, many juggling home damage, caregiving, utility outages, and financial strain on top of their studies.

Second-year nursing student and single mother Stephanie Cram knows that struggle firsthand. "For me, the biggest challenge was adapting to continuing my education while not having power for a whole week," she said. When she learned her classmate Kelsea Carrasco had gone nine days without power in Hanalei, Cram showed up with a generator, gas, water, and a Starlink kit so Carrasco could stay connected and keep up with class.

The college leaned into that same spirit, hosting a recovery resource event with 50 donated Domino's pizzas, emergency aid help from Kaua'i United Way and Catholic Charities, mental health counselors from sister UH campuses, and a new on-campus sensory room, alongside a regularly updated online resource guide for students still finding their footing.

KIUC has restored power to 98% of members, with about 500 households still dark in Wainiha and Ha'ena, roughly 110 in Koke'e, and about 100 more scattered elsewhere. Operations Chief Brad Rockwell said initial restoration in the hardest-hit areas could begin as early as this evening, with hope for full power by the weekend.

Ha'ena and Wainiha roads remain open to local traffic only while debris removal continues on the major highways. Water conservation notices are still in place for the 'Anini and Ha'ena-Wainiha systems, and several beach parks, pools, and the county golf courses remain closed.

Kaua'i is also keeping an eye on a new storm: Tropical Storm Nolo has strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane south of the Big Island, prompting a hurricane watch and tropical storm warnings for Hawai'i County. It isn't threatening Kaua'i yet, but after Lowell, we're watching closely.

Three deadlines to know: property tax exemption applications are due September 30 (no extensions), SNAP food-replacement loss statements are due September 28, and Office of Hawaiian Affairs intake forms are due September 30.

“Every single one of them is important. These are endemic palms and are found nowhere else on planet Earth.”

Tobias Kohler, Garden Director

Hurricane Lowell hit hard at Kaua'i's National Tropical Botanical Garden complex. Lawa'i Gardens took winds near 50 mph, Limahuli Garden saw more than 17 inches of rain, and coastal flooding deposited roughly two feet of sand inside the historic Allerton House, damaging its walls.

The heaviest loss was to the garden's Loulu palms, Hawai'i's only native palm and found nowhere else on Earth. The storm claimed 25 of the garden's 700 Loulu, more damage than the coconut rhinoceros beetle had caused across the previous two years combined. The gardens remain closed, with staff hoping to reopen within weeks as road access and recovery allow.

“Papa's been calling her hurricane baby. So that's her little nickname, I guess. She's so peaceful.”

Haylee Chung

Ke'ale and Haylee Chung brought their second daughter, Harper Jade, home to Kilauea on September 14, just a week after Hurricane Lowell hit. They drove 90 minutes to Kaua'i Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waimea around 3:30 a.m. for the delivery, bringing a chainsaw along in case downed trees blocked the road.

They came home to a damaged shed, a destroyed playground, and no power or water. Haylee said she wanted to stay in the hospital as long as she could, knowing what was waiting for them. Both have since been restored, and the family is settling into parenthood with the help of a community that's been showing up for each other since the storm.

What an afternoon. This past Sunday I had the chance to be part of a kanikapila with Lady Ipo, and watching her share her mana with this community was something else entirely.

She brought out some of Kaua'i's finest Hawaiian musicians for a true kanikapila, voices locking into four-part harmony the way only a real jam session can. Then she shifted gears completely, stepping into her other persona as a jazz and pop vocalist backed by a jazz trio, bringing to life songs straight out of her own childhood.

The whole thing streamed live to raise additional funds for Hurricane Lowell relief, and for our kupuna (I suppose that includes me now).

If you'd like to contribute, you can donate to the Rotary Club of Hanalei Bay, working in concert with Malama Kauai and our kupuna to ensure people's essential needs are being met. Every bit of generosity helps this island keep recovering.

Fourteen days after Hurricane Lowell, KIUC has restored power to 98% of the island. Fewer than 1,000 members remain without service.

What's left: about 500 members in Wainiha and Ha'ena, where restoration could begin toward the end of this week pending vegetation clearing and helicopter-assisted repairs; roughly 350 members in scattered pockets between Hanalei and Kekaha, some of which may take a week or more; and about 110 members in Koke'e, where debris clearing has only just begun and no restoration timeline has been set.

It's three weeks into our "post-Lowell" recovery. I'm forced to pivot, AND I have the luxury of being able to do so, as my home, property, and family sustained only minor physical damage.

Many others, understandably, must remain focused on the here and now of survival, but those of us that can, must do both. We must continue helping our friends AND we must deal with the here and now issues of the day.

For me, "pivot" of course means begin focusing on policy, politics, and the upcoming elections.

The general election is on Nov. 3. Ballots begin arriving in our mailbox on or about Oct. 14, less than three weeks from today.

Needless to say, every candidate is dealing with their own Hurricane Lowell experience and impacts, and standing on the highway saying "vote for me" is not something the public would react well to at this particular moment in time, IMHO.

Campaign mailers will begin arriving in the mail, just before that critical Oct. 14 date and continue through Nov. 3.

The massive destruction caused by the surf, winds, rain, the ongoing recovery effort make the choice for mayor and councilmember all the more important.

Which mayoral candidate is most capable of managing the multiple actions involved with juggling the county finances, begging and borrowing from the state and federal government, granting of contracts (non-bid and otherwise), and ensuring the quality of work meets standards?

What seven individuals on the County Council will provide the best new ideas, oversight, and support for the same daunting tasks?

Kauai needs a proactive council, one that will initiate and support new policy initiatives AND watch ever so closely how the money is spent.

A full-time county auditor is needed now more than ever before.

The amount of money soon to be flowing through the county, in support of rebuilding roads, parks, and county buildings such as the Civic Center, will be in the hundreds of millions.

Rebuilding the technological infrastructure lost in the Civic Center fire will take specific expertise and time.

It is yet unknown how many records, permits, and applications (both paper and electronic) in the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Department of Taxation, the Planning Department and others were irretrievably lost.

Hopefully the vast majority of information contained in these departments had been "saved" electronically and backed up to the "cloud" on a daily basis and prior to the fire.

Ensuring a timely, consistent "information back-up mandate," if not already in place, must be one of the first items on the new council's agenda. The mayor can set this as administrative policy, but to absolutely ensure it actually happens, requires an actual ordinance initiated by the council.

Working with KIUC and exploring the costs and benefits of "going underground" and "hardening" our main transmission lines must be a priority.

Expanding and incentivizing solar photovoltaic and water catchment systems for single family homes and businesses is a public policy discussion that needs to take place, at BOTH the state and county level.

Extending the property tax deadline now set at Sept. 30, to allow Transient Vacation Rentals (TVRs) the opportunity to convert to long-term affordable rentals, and reap the benefits of that tax reduction, is something that needs to happen now, ASAP.

Implementation of a "$500 gift card" program helping the unemployed, supporting locally owned small food establishments and farmers markets, similar to what occurred during COVID, could provide important assistance to those who need it most.

Yes, the needs and the challenges of the coming months are formidable.

And the lion's share of this work will fall upon the shoulders of the new mayor and councilmembers who will be sworn into office on Dec. 1.

It's up to us as citizens to also ACTIVELY engage and support our new mayor and council.

We must show up, suggest ideas, provide community oversight, and both support and applaud the positive while shining a light and calling out the shortcomings.

This is what democracy looks like, all of us working together towards the common good.

We got this.

At St. Catherine of Alexandria Church in Kapa'a, Father EJ Resinto led an immediate response, cooking chili and rice from defrosting food pantry items to feed roughly 300 people. Parishioner Raina Bautista coordinated delivery of 150 more meals to other island churches, bringing the total to around 450 people fed.

In Kalaheo, Fathers Danilo Galang and Ronaldo Guzman organized two days of food and water distribution at Holy Cross Church, joined by volunteers from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the United Church of Christ, with supplies from the Kaua'i Food Bank and fresh produce donated by the community.

At St. Theresa School in Kekaha, Principal Wendy Souza expected two days of cleanup. Families showed up with their kids and finished it in three hours. Father Edwin Conselva of St. Theresa Church, who oversaw the property cleanup, later helped coordinate assistance to other damaged churches. As Father Resinto put it, this community is "resilient" and "will take care of each other."

Two days after Hurricane Lowell, a fire tore through the Kapule Building at the Lihu'e Civic Center on September 9, damaging the Real Property Division's offices and destroying paper records. The DMV remains closed because of it, and Real Property's in-person office has relocated to the former Purchasing Office.

Kaua'i County had both disaster-recovery backup technology and a documented history of off-site and cloud backup in place before the fire. There's no evidence the County's electronic databases were wiped out, and the ongoing restoration of pre-fire records and systems points the other direction. That said, the County has not publicly disclosed whether every affected database was successfully recovered, the date and time of the most recent recoverable backups, or whether any electronic records were permanently lost. Paper records were definitely destroyed.

For property owners: the County's update says anyone who submitted a Real Property exemption application but did not receive an emailed confirmation should resubmit, since that paperwork was destroyed in the fire. You can also file for an exemption directly online.

KIUC has restored power to 98% of the island, with about 732 members still without electricity. Wainiha and Ha'ena (roughly 500 members) get a helicopter damage survey today, with restoration possibly beginning this weekend. Koke'e, home to about 110 members, remains at zero percent, though KIUC has promised an initial timeline by the end of this week.

On the ground: Ha'ena and Wainiha remain open to local traffic only, and the weight limit on Wainiha River Bridge No. 3 has been raised to 15 tons. Water conservation notices are still in effect for 'Anini, Ha'ena-Wainiha, and Kilauea. Ha'ena, Blackpot, Po'ipu, and Salt Pond beach parks remain closed. All public schools are back open island-wide.

Power is now restored for 95% of the island as of Friday afternoon, with approximately 1,800 customers awaiting restoration.

Kaua'i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) has been receiving support from local and off-island teams to bolster power restoration efforts across the island.

Work will be ongoing in the North Shore area. No timeline is available yet on when repairs will be completed.

Flaggers will be on site to assist with traffic control. Use extra caution around coned work areas.

Motorists should expect extended delays and are asked to slow down and remain alert. Stay away from downed utility lines and call 911 if a line poses an immediate danger.

KIUC restored power to 95% of the island as of Friday, September 19, with roughly 1,800 members still waiting for service. Peak outages right after Lowell hit about 33,000 customers.

Crews brought back about 1,500 members Thursday evening alone, including more than 1,000 in Kīlauea and the surrounding area.

Still without power: North Shore pockets between Moloa'a and Hanalei, scattered outages between Kapa'a and Kekaha, the Wainiha and Hā'ena area, and Kōke'e.

In Wainiha and Hā'ena, debris clearing is still underway. KIUC's best estimate is that repair work could begin this weekend, with restoration starting by the end of next week. Kōke'e has no firm timeline yet while vegetation and debris clearing continues.

Three water systems, in 'Anini, Hā'ena-Wainiha, and Kīlauea, remain under conservation notices; residents there are asked to use water only for essential needs.

On Powerhouse Road, Kaua'i Resilience Team coordinator Megan Wong has been driving door to door with hot meals for residents who've been cut off since the storm, including neighbors Sophia Levesque and Edwin Smith.

A few miles away, Tiffany Grande and Donna King, two of the volunteers residents have started calling the "east side aunties," spend their days prepping the lunches that go out on that same route.

Between them, the meals add up to hundreds a day, one of the few steady things left for North Shore families still waiting on power.

Last night was the first chance I've had to drive up the North Shore. Somewhere between Moloa'a and Waipake I passed four HECO trucks working on power lines on the mauka side of the highway. It was still light out, and I could not believe what I was looking at: downed telephone lines, and just absolute devastation to the trees and fences on both sides of the road.

I was headed to an interfaith service at Church of the Pacific. It was led by a reconstructionist rabbi I know as Rabbi Fred, who flies in from Washington DC for the Jewish High Holidays. This service was for everyone, every faith, with a real emphasis on inclusivity and making room for each one. The idea behind it was simple: at the heart of it all, we want peace, we want to become more conscious, more loving people, and we want to share that spirit with each other.

Afterward there was a potluck, and the food and company made for real fellowship. Mostly there was a lot of gratitude in that room, and a lot of praying for healing and recovery for everyone hit by Hurricane Lowell.

“The boulders were like nothing I've ever seen.”

Mona Garcia, Kekaha resident

Nowhere is Hurricane Lowell's force more visible than the Westside. Nine boats went missing from Port Allen Harbor and two sank; docks separated, sidewalks crumpled, and the Waimea recreational pier was destroyed outright.

Justin Ipac, a Hunt Fish Kauaʻi captain who grew up in a fishing family in ʻEleʻele, said, "Losing a harbor like this, a lot of people just lost their jobs." He's been driving for Uber and doing yard work while the port stays closed. Fellow captain Matt Sullivan added, "It becomes a timing thing... people need work," and is pushing for a quick rebuild.

A mile and a half of Kaumualiʻi Highway is impassable, buried under ocean boulders the surge tossed onto the road. Kekaha resident Mona Garcia said she heard the boulders rolling at 3 a.m. during the storm. She and her husband, who run a wedding business, have been salvaging equipment with neighbors' help.

Trish Tsukamoto, whose home was mid-renovation when Lowell hit and lost electrical work, drywall, and part of its roof, is now pushing for a neighborhood resilience hub to support kūpuna: "I think that's what we need for the families here." Tristan Costales, who sheltered in place, called it simply "the worst experience of my life."

As of Wednesday morning, the county had logged 747 resident-submitted damage assessments: 18 homes destroyed and 101 with major damage. Two hurricane recovery resource centers are open daily 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Hanalei and Kōloa neighborhood centers, and the Hanalei Initiative is running hourly shuttles from Wainiha for residents who need to reach them.

Most schools have reopened; Hanalei Elementary brings back employees Friday and students Monday. Regular bus service has resumed, with no fares charged through the end of the week.

A new weather concern is layering onto the recovery: remnants of Tropical Storm Norbert triggered a Flood Watch running Wednesday evening through Friday morning, with saturated soils and compromised drainage in storm-damaged areas raising the risk of flash flooding on top of everything else.

The county is running seven storm debris sites, weather permitting, and residents have until June 30, 2027 to file tax remission forms for storm-damaged property.

“Let us heal. Let our power come back on.”

Honey Chandler, Kauaʻi Resilience Team volunteer

Kauaʻi's power restoration has climbed to 91%, but the roughly 3,329 customers still in the dark are concentrated on the North Shore: about 2,000 from Moloʻaʻa to Hanalei, and 500 more in Wainiha and Hāʻena, the most isolated and hardest-hit stretch of the island. The Wainiha Powerhouse Road bridge is currently limited to 5 tons; a temporary abutment due Monday should raise that to 15.

With government crews stretched thin, residents have built their own recovery operation. Pelika Andrade, founder of the nonprofit Na Maka Onaona, is coordinating meal prep that's now producing 400 lunches and 400 dinners a day. Kauaʻi Resilience Team coordinator Megan Wong drives the neighborhood calling out “You need food?” to anyone still stuck without power, with her daughter Honey Chandler organizing the volunteer labor behind it.

Not everyone feels the recovery is moving fast enough. “They're being ignored, that's what really gets me,” said Pat Coon of Project Vision Hawaiʻi, pointing to the lack of road crews reaching the area. Mayor Derek Kawakami, for his part, credited the North Shore's self-sufficiency: “They are independent in and of itself of any government support.”

On the question of visitors, Chandler was direct: “Everybody can come back when we're back to normal. We're nowhere near that right now.”

While the island focuses on repairs, local businesses that depend on tourism are quietly struggling. Kauaʻi Fresh Fish lost 70% of its sales overnight, dropping from 15 to 18 restaurant accounts down to 3 or 4, and laid off its whole staff except one person. "We lost about 70% of our sales overnight... wondering if we're going to make it," said the founder.

Java Kai's Kīlauea location is still without power and closed, and the company let go about 45 employees, roughly half its team. The Musubi Truck closed its Kōloa location and cut more than half its staff. "We do rely on visitors... but if you do come, just be respectful," said Java Kai's owner.

It's a real tension worth naming: the North Shore is still, in Mayor Kawakami's words, "an active disaster zone," while businesses elsewhere on the island need customers back.

KIUC has restored power to 91% of members as of Wednesday evening. About 3,100 members remain out: roughly 2,000 from Moloaʻa to Hanalei, 500 in Wainiha/Hāʻena, 100 in Kōkeʻe, and 500 in scattered pockets. Most Princeville customers and some Hanalei residents got power back by late Tuesday; Wainiha and Hāʻena's earliest estimate is the end of next week.

The grassroots picture matches the official numbers: a Mālama Kauaʻi Facebook post this morning asking who's still without power drew 122 replies by midday, mostly from Moloaʻa, Kīlauea, and pockets on the east, south, and west sides, plus the far North Shore, the same areas KIUC lists as still out.

Water conservation notices have lifted for Hanalei, Kalāheo-Kōloa/Poʻipū, Līhuʻe-Kapaʻa, Hanapēpē-ʻEleʻele, and Kekaha-Waimea. Debris sites are open with tipping fees waived; Kūhiō Highway still has one-lane sections, and Wainiha Bridge #3 is local-traffic-only with a weight limit. Over 550 damage assessments have been submitted.

Mayor Kawakami asked travelers with trips already booked to consider visiting another island "to allow the Garden Isle time to heal." Hanalei Elementary reopens September 21.

All seven of Kauaʻi's state parks, managed by DLNR, remain closed after storm damage: Nā Pali Coast, Waimea Canyon, Hāʻena, Polihale, Nuʻalolo Kai, Wailua River, and Kōkeʻe. About 100 leased cabins are inaccessible, hundreds of trees are down across Waimea Canyon Drive and Kōkeʻe Road, and power, water, and cell service remain out in the parks.

First Deputy Director Dave Day of DLNR called the damage "unreal" and said, "there is still a long way to go toward restoration of public access." Only one lane is cleared for emergency access, daytime access is limited to residents with legitimate business, and there's no reopening date, road clearing alone could take many more weeks.

Since Hurricane Lowell hit, more than 300 Hawaiʻi National Guard personnel have been deployed statewide, with Task Force Kauaʻi reinforced daily by troops and equipment from neighboring islands. Governor Josh Green said the Guard has "lived up to its motto of 'Always Ready, Always There,'" working alongside Mayor Derek Kawakami and the Kauaʻi Emergency Management Agency.

On Kauaʻi, the missions have ranged widely: UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters ferried TSA staff back to Līhuʻe Airport to help reopen it, teams cleared fallen trees and downed roadways, and a bulk water distribution station went up in Kīlauea. On September 10, Guardsmen installed a backup generator at a Līhuʻe dialysis center serving 75 patients and evacuated 12 dialysis patients to Oʻahu for treatment. Communication crews have also been delivering Starlink terminals to restore connectivity in hard-hit areas.

On September 12, Task Force Kauaʻi teamed up with Hawaiʻi Foodbank and community partners for a food distribution at Eleele Baptist Church that served more than 225 vehicles, nearly triple what the church's monthly distribution normally handles. "This is something we usually do once a month; we usually serve anywhere from 75-125 families. But because of the hurricane, obviously there's more people that need food," said Pastor Larry Hale. For some of the Guardsmen, the mission is personal too: Spc. Taylor Calixterio-Martinez of the 29th Brigade Support Battalion, a Kauaʻi local, said, "It's really nice that I get to be on orders and stay home for it."

“I was just thinking, I'm going to live. I'm going to figure it out.”

Trent Parke, to SFGATE

The night of September 7, as Hurricane Lowell moved past Kauaʻi, the Wainiha River did something few people on the North Shore had seen. In under two hours, its flow nearly doubled, from about 51,000 gallons per second at 7 p.m. to almost 90,000 gallons per second by 8:50 p.m., according to a USGS gauge. For 47-year-old Wainiha resident Trent Parke, whose property borders the river, that surge turned into an eight-hour fight to survive.

Parke had spent days prepping his property and planned to ride out the storm from high ground, not from inside it. Around 7:30 p.m. he was walking back to his truck after shutting down his off-grid power system when the river surged three feet in front of him, cutting off his path. He swam back to his house instead, climbed onto the deck, and kept climbing as the water kept rising, first to the deck roof, then watching his tool shed and art studio break away and get carried off by the current.

When two trees slammed into the house and it started to break loose, he jumped into the river in the dark, swam for a stand of hau bush on higher ground, and held on. When the hau gave way too, the current swept him downstream, a log struck him in the back and head, and he surfaced disoriented but managed to grab another branch and climb again. He stayed there, half-submerged at times, fighting hypothermia and watching trees fly past in the dark, until 4 a.m.

At first light he made it to the road, helped four other stranded people reach safety using his phone's flashlight, and slept in his flooded truck until morning. He found his house had come to rest 30 to 50 yards from where it once stood. Authorities are still investigating the toll in Wainiha; the body of a 59-year-old man was recovered nearby on September 11.

Parke has spent the days since helping neighbors clear debris and chainsaw logs before turning to his own property. "Moving forward I am a forever changed person," he said. A friend has set up a GoFundMe to help him rebuild.

Amid the recovery on land, a quieter kind of storm response has been unfolding underwater. Hawaii's first-ever parametric reef insurance program, created in 2022 by The Nature Conservancy and the Hawaiʻi Emergency Reef Restoration Network, automatically triggers a payout whenever a storm's winds exceed 57 mph.

Hurricane Lowell tripped that threshold, releasing a $300,000 payout on September 16, the program's second payout in three weeks after Hurricane Lala's $200,000 payout in August. The funds go straight to coral damage assessment, rescue, and reattachment work across the state.

“Storm-driven reef damage has historically been overlooked,” said Julia Rose, The Nature Conservancy's Restoration Program Manager, one reason a fast, systematic response matters.

This morning, jubilant texts started coming in from clients in Princeville, the first hint that power might finally be close for the North Shore. That hope has real backing: KIUC's restoration workforce is now about 250 people, including 80 additional mutual aid crews who joined this week from Hawaiian Electric, Southern California Edison, and HMS Construction.

Crews have isolated a section of transmission line between Princeville and Wainiha, clearing the way for the first North Shore restorations, which KIUC says could begin in portions of Princeville and Hanalei as soon as Wednesday. The rest of the North Shore, out to Hāʻena, will take longer as crews keep working through the damage.

Island-wide, KIUC has restored power to about 82% of members, with roughly 6,500 customers still waiting, most of them on the North Shore.

Two North Shore-focused efforts posted updates today, one on long-term rebuilding, one on an urgent short-term need.

“Nobody asked for anything in return. They simply showed up.”

Kalaheo Farms

After a terrifying night, one Kalaheo Farms family woke up to massive uprooted trees blocking their driveway, damaged cars and a damaged roof, broken water pipes, and no power or water. They were completely stuck at home.

And then people started showing up. The Dang family, Danny, Jenny, and Chance, brought gas and helped with the generator. Beau, Austin, and Josh arrived with chainsaws and muscle. Stephanie and her son lent a hand, even while running on empty. The Osuna-Maza family climbed into the hole left by the uprooted tree and repaired the water pipes so the family could have running water again. Marlene Osuna-Maza brought food and checked in.

Nobody asked for anything in return. They simply showed up. All the family could offer in return was eggs and honey from Kalaheo Farms, which their neighbors happily accepted.

There's still a lot of work ahead, but their family, dogs, chickens, and bees are safe, their home is standing, and everything else can be repaired. "Kauaʻi takes care of Kauaʻi," they wrote. "We can't wait until we can get out of our driveway and return some of the kindness that was given to us."

A look at the volunteers, cleanup crews, and community gatherings that have carried Kauaʻi through this recovery. Watch below.

With thousands of households on Kauaʻi still without power — and without power there's no refrigeration — food security has become one of the most urgent parts of this recovery. Here's where residents can turn for help right now, per the county's kauairecovers.org site and our own additional research into North Shore resources.

About 100 additional crew members from Hawaiian Electric, HMS Construction, and Southern California Edison joined Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) crews Monday morning, bringing the total restoration workforce to 250. Nearly 90% of the island lost power when Hurricane Lowell tore through early last Tuesday morning; as of Sunday, KIUC had restored electricity to more than 80% of affected members. “It's difficult to talk about speed of restoration as a positive item, when we still have 20% of our members out, but getting 80% restored in under a week, given the scale of the damage that's been seen on the island, is an awesome accomplishment,” said KIUC President and CEO David Bissell.

Crews focused first on repairing transmission lines before moving into Kauai's major population centers and priority issues. Ahead of the storm, KIUC had already replaced more than 1,400 poles, about 10% of the utility's roughly 16,000 poles island-wide, after an assessment using sonar and drone technology to identify the poles in the worst condition. “It's always difficult to say what would have happened, but I'm very confident we would have had much more extensive damage if that had not occurred,” Bissell said.

At Gov. Josh Green's request, Air Force crews delivered six utility trucks to Līhuʻe Airport by cargo flight Saturday evening, the same Southern California Edison trucks used for power restoration after Hurricane Lala on Hawaiʻi Island. That crew, along with more than 40 Hawaiian Electric workers, is now on Kauai helping close the gap. “On Hawaii Island, when Hurricane Lala came through, it was similar to Lowell here for Kauai, where the damage wasn't in a particular area,” said Shari Ishikawa, vice president of energy delivery at Hawaiian Electric. “It was widespread throughout the whole island.”

For the roughly one in five households still waiting, Bissell had this message: “We know it's very difficult, going on a week now without power, particularly in this heat. They have our sympathies and we're doing everything that we can to try to get people back as soon as we can in a safe manner.”

“If you're not buying local food on a weekly basis, how do you expect them to stay alive so that they're around?”

Megan Fox, Executive Director of Mālama Kauaʻi

“Why are we trying to get back to a system that so easily collapsed overnight?”

Xochi Weigel, who homesteads in Wailua

Inside her Kīlauea home Monday night, Hurricane Lowell's howling winds were the only thing Louisa Wooten could hear. By first light, fences were down, goats were loose, and fruit lay scattered across the ground at Kauai Kunana Dairy — the island's only dairy farm. She estimates the storm cost her about 50 mature fruit trees. To keep her goat cheese and soursop puree from spoiling, she's been running generators at roughly $100 a day, all while remembering that after Hurricane ʻIniki in 1992, Kīlauea didn't get power back until after Thanksgiving. “This is really hard because we have all these mature crops now that we're losing,” she said. “We're going to lose pretty big... If there's ever a time to support local farmers, it's right now. This really hits below the belt.”

Hawaiʻi imports 80% to 90% of its food. Replacing just 10% of those imports with locally grown food would add an estimated $188 million in sales, $47 million in earnings, $6 million in state tax revenue, and more than 2,300 jobs to the islands, according to state data. Yet Kauaʻi lost 32% of its farms between 2017 and 2022 — the steepest drop of any county in the state. Megan Fox, Executive Director of Mālama Kauaʻi, watched the contrast play out in real time this week: hours-long lines at grocery stores for shelf-stable, mostly imported food, while the island's farmers markets saw no such rush. “You see pictures of shelves empty and people are like, 'Oh my god!' But they're not lining up that way at farmers markets,” she said.

At Aloha Ola Farms in Kīlauea, Lowell crushed Brianna and Corey Ansley's greenhouse and tore the roof off their home. “The Native Hawaiians were completely self-sufficient, and now we're at 95% dependency on imports. That's slightly insane in my mind,” Corey Ansley said. “Considering we're called the Garden Isle, we should be able to provide more for our local community.” Up in Moloaʻa, Ned and Marta Whitlock lost an estimated 10,000 pounds of bananas alone — a full year's worth of production knocked to the ground in one night, along with avocado, papaya, and soursop trees. “We're just used to taking blows and keeping on,” Ned Whitlock said. “Right now, my biggest concern is making payroll... I'm not whining about it. If there's something there, cool.”

Not every story was one of loss. Xochi Weigel, who homesteads in Wailua, rode out the storm eating fruits and vegetables she'd grown herself while stores emptied around her. “We were feeling really good and secure, but then you see everybody else scrambling,” she said. “It's hard to feel good when you don't have more and more to offer.” She hopes Lowell becomes a turning point: “Why are we trying to get back to a system that so easily collapsed overnight? There's one highway that goes all the way around. There's lines everywhere for the stores... What can we do so that people don't have to leave their immediate neighborhoods and communities to have safe access to food and water?”

Read the full story, and if you want to help Mālama Kauaʻi keep local farmers afloat and families fed, they're looking for volunteers.

The heavy rains that came with Hurricane Lowell did what they always do on the east side: pushed a huge amount of driftwood up onto Lydgate Park and around Kamalani Playground. This time it was a lot more than usual.

Tommy Noyes, the longtime voice of Friends of Kamalani & Lydgate Beach, and Ron Wiley on Kong 93.5 put the call out, and Kauai Now carried it too: 150 volunteers needed, Saturday, 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., to clean up the beach and Morgan's Pond.

There's history behind that group. Friends of Kamalani & Lydgate Beach formed after 5,000 community members came together to build Kamalani Playground following Hurricane Iniki. Thirty-four years later, during Lowell recovery, the same instinct showed up again.

In two hours, it was done. Gloves, water bottles, sunscreen, closed-toe shoes, and a crowd that turned out big. A fellow Rotarian who pitched in sent these photos, and confirmed the park is open, notable, since a lot of the island still isn't.

Lunch was provided for the volunteers, and whatever food was left over didn't sit around. It went straight up to the North Shore, where so many homes are still without power and without a working refrigerator. That's shaping up to be one of the harder parts of this recovery: food security isn't just about getting supplies to people, it's about getting them there while they're still good to eat.

Kawakami opened by naming what the island is carrying:

“It's been a long week. A hurricane, a fire at our county building, suspended services to our residents that they depend on. So people are tired, fatigue is starting to set in... and it's heavy, and nobody, nobody is carrying it alone.”

Mayor Derek Kawakami, on Kong 93.5

Power and water. KIUC has restored power to 27,291 members, 75% of the island. The North Shore, Wainiha and Haena especially, is still at zero and is the crews' top priority. Mutual-aid crews from Hawaiian Electric and Southern California Edison are arriving this weekend and next to help, and will stay until the island is back to 100%. Water systems are 97% restored.

Damage assessment. County teams have completed 412 home assessments so far: 57 homes with major damage, 7 destroyed. The state, under Governor Green, is running a temporary housing program for families who lost homes.

Debris and green waste. This is the slowest-moving piece, and Kawakami said so plainly: “Some things will change minute to minute because we have crews working concurrently on many different projects.” As of Saturday: Kapaa Transfer Station is open for green waste and trash; Lihue is open for refuse only, with green waste to follow once crews finish clearing hazards; Hanapepe and Kekaha are open for both. Temporary bypass sites are being prepped near Kilauea and Kapaa for North Shore overflow, hours still subject to change.

What residents can do. Report any storm damage at kauairecovers.org, it's how the county builds its case for state and federal aid. Expect traffic near gas stations and North Shore work zones, and give crews room. Check on kupuna, share what you have, and pass the kauairecovers.org link to any neighbor still without power who may not have seen it.

For visitors. Kawakami asked directly for patience, and asked visitors not to honk, noting it reads badly right now given what many residents have been through this week.

He closed by tying the moment to the calendar: Friday marked 34 years since Hurricane Iniki and 25 years since 9/11.

“Different days, same lesson. When it gets hard, we come together... let's look out for each other, and let's show a little aloha.”

kauairecovers.org · Ron Wiley/Kong 93.5 hotline: 808-246-9393