Steve Schneider was sitting on the front porch of his blue beach bungalow in Poʻipū, taking a break from cleaning up the debris and storm damage that included his neighbor’s home that slammed into his front yard and car that almost went through his front window.
The high winds and storm surge from Category 2 Hurricane Lowell had pushed the home along Baby Beach right off its foundation.
“In all honesty, it took four or five times coming down just to absorb what was going on,” Schneider said as he and his neighbors were among the hardest hit from the hurricane that struck Labor Day night.
Lowell lifted his neighbor’s home across the street off its cement blocks and moved it to the street. It has since been reduced to a pile of wood, furniture, mattresses and other household items, piled several feet high on the side of narrow Ho‘ona Road.
While the South Shore of Kauaʻi got hit hard, the rest of the rural island was not spared the wrath of the hurricane, which brough high winds, damaging surf, heavy rains and storm surge.
There were long lines for gas on the North Shore, and empty store shelves at Foodland in Kapaʻa. Utility workers continued to restore power to the 33,000 customers that had lost it during the storm.
Times are tough on the remote island, but residents have shown resiliency helping each other out, including clearing roads with their own equipment.
It was a sunny, hot day Thursday in Poʻipū, where some people were milling about Po‘ipū Beach, where the grassy park area was now covered with sand.
Business owners were cleaning up properties, including Kainoa French, who was power washing the outside of Nukumoi Surf Co., a surf shop and beach rental shop.
After weathering the storm at a home in Lawai, French said he made it down to check on the shop on Tuesday. While business was relatively undamaged, he said the beach drastically changed.
“Right where the Nukumoi Point lifeguard tower was, they had to pull it up because that whole section of beach was leveled,” he said.
Vacation rental property owners were cleaning up and trying to connect with guests about rescheduling.
Some people complained about a lack of water and ice.
By Kūhiō Shores, the water was brown, and the first floor of the resort had been gutted by ocean water.
Some tourists had ridden out the storm on Kauaʻi, including a grandfather with this three grandsons who were walking around the town, and a couple riding on rental bikes.
Schneider said the day Lowell struck, he checked on people, helped board up windows and lash things down. But he rode out the storm on the fourth floor of nearby Kōloa Landing.
When the hurricane struck, he saw a “monster closeout set” covering Whalers Cove Resort, which is less than a minute away from his home.
“I could not see my house, but I knew something was up,” he said. “And by then, the path of the hurricane started coming into everybody’s radar awareness.”
Schneider came back down to the neighborhood at around 6 p.m. Monday. He passed out his phone number in case anyone might need help later. He ended up back in the neighborhood to help a few people escape from storm surge that was hitting the house across the street, ultimately knocking it off its foundation and into Schneider’s yard.
“They didn’t know what to do,” Schneider recalled. “Water was coming into their house. Waves were breaking over their porch.”
Schneider told them to jump in their truck and meet him at the traffic circle up the street. From there, he gave them a safe place to stay until the storm died down.
Schneider ventured back out to survey the damage at 5 a.m. on Tuesday. He described the destruction as surreal and “dreamlike.”
“Stuff was still flying around, and it was windy as could be,” he said.
Schneider, along with other residents of the street, checked for downed power lines.
But as the days have gone by, Schneider said he has received help.
On Wednesday, there were 15 to 20 people working around his house that he didn’t know.
“I was crying,” he said.
Schneider said he’s made progress on insurance. His house is not livable, but he is able to stay in an apartment right behind his house.
“Last night I actually felt a little relaxed to the point that I didn’t have to worry about too much,” he said. “Then I started thinking about details. And then, there’s no sleep there either.”
On Thursday, Trevor Knauff, 44, and Aaron Hoff, 52, who live just up the street from Hoone Road, were helping with cleanup.
Knauff said the debris was the remnants of two different houses that just completely blew off their foundations. One ended up in the middle of the road and the other was pushed into Schneider’s yard.
While people are in shock, community members with their own equipment have been working to clear the seaside Ho‘ona Road.
“The cavalry is not coming, and we’ve just got to go and start rebuilding,” said Hoff, who was born and raised on Kaua‘i, and experience Hurricane ʻIniki.
While Lowell is not as catastrophic as the Category 4 storm that directly hit the Garden Island in 1992, the recent hurricane will have lasting impacts.
Lowell severely damaged several rental properties, including Kūhiō Shores and the Sheraton Kaua‘i Resort, along with the Beach Restaurant.
“The tourism industry won’t come back for all the hotels for a good couple of years,” Hoff estimated.
On top of the loss of jobs, Hoff said there is no outlet for the kids, who often are neglected in the aftermath of disasters.
Knowing firsthand the challenges kids face in a rural community when resources become even more limited after a disaster, Hoff founded the Keala Foundation as a way to support youth and give them a positive outlet for fitness and other programs.
He thinks the biggest way people can help is by supporting local foundations.
McKenzie Johnson was on Hoone Road to see if there was anything she could help haul away on Thursday. But machines were still working and clearing a path on the road.
“This is such a kind of rally mentality here that can bounce back and help each other,” said Johnson, who was home in Kōloa when the hurricane hit. “The community is solid and everyone’s checking on each other and making sure they have what they need.”
Power is still out for many residents including Johnson, who said: “We’re making do.”
She said she is impressed with Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative and the work they’ve done to quickly restore power to many people.
“I can’t believe how fast they’ve gotten power up to the neighborhoods,” she said.
