With Hurricane Lowell now past Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau, county crews are assessing the damage from the Category 3 storm that wreaked havoc islandwide, downing transmission lines, flooding oceanfront properties and breaking up roads.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Kaua‘i County officials reported no storm-related fatalities on Kaua‘i or Ni‘ihau at this time. However, Kaua‘i County Fire Chief Mike Gibson told members of the media that the department did receive many calls Monday night about people trapped, people unaccounted for and some people needing medical services.
Gibson said crews responded to calls to the best of their ability, adding that at one point during the storm, a Kaua‘i Fire crew vehicle got pinned on the highway after it was hit by a fallen tree.
“Firefighters had to extract themselves to a safe location,” Gibson said. Until the winds died down after the storm, we were able to resume those searches.”
All people reported missing were located. Gibson said anyone who needed EMS care was treated and provided transport to the hospital.
“There were a few really well-executed rescues performed by AMR, American Medical Response, and our firefighters,” Gibson said. “They had to navigate through downed trees, utilizing a couple of ambulances, transferring the person around the tree into the other ambulance with the assistance of fire crews and transport (them) to the hospital.”
Throughout the weather event, Elton Ushio, Kaua‘i Emergency Management Administrator, said county officials have stayed in frequent contact with the Robinson family, owners of Ni‘ihau, adding there were no reported injuries on the Forbidden Island.
“Although we have made offers of assistance, they have not needed our assistance with any incidents on Ni‘ihau,” Ushio said. “We did do an aerial assessment county-wide, and we do not have exact figures or cost figures for damages there.”
Since the storm has only just happened, Ushio said the extent of the damage to properties is unknown. However, the county has opened an online reporting portal for residents and business owners to report damage.
As of Tuesday evening, there were 10 residential reports and four business reports.
“We’d expect the number to go up,” Ushio said, adding the county will be canvassing every community to assess damages.
Click here to report damages to the county.
At some point, Ushio said Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency, along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency will assist in a joint preliminary damage assessment with the goal of qualifying for federal assistance in storm recovery.
“These various assessments take place over the first few days and in weeks,” Ushio said. “Depending on what is documented, we may or may not qualify for federal and other assistance.”
Kaua‘i County Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami urged residents and business owners to file their damage reports.
“Unless we hear from you, it’s hard for us to imagine what you’re going through,” the mayor said.
And while Lowell has passed, Kawakami said there are still multiple threats and hazards that face their island community. Broken up roads are littered with down trees and transmission lines that have left more than 30,000 Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative members without power,
Kawakami said the fewer cars there are on the road, the easier it will be to get power and infrastructure restored.
“It’s going to be an ongoing effort,” Kawakami said. “I have supreme confidence in our community that you have it in your heart to be patient, kind, understanding, and to spread that aloha spirit…We will recover. We will rebuild and we will come back stronger.”
