Hurricane Lowell pummeled Kauaʻi, Niʻihau and parts of Oʻahu during Labor Day Weekend with heavy rain, strong winds and dangerous surf, particularly south- and west-facing shores. The Category 2 storm caused widespread damage to homes and buildings, islandwide power outages and loss of at least 2 lives.
Large swells, reaching up to 30 feet on Kauaʻi and 20 feet on Oʻahu, caused substantial damage along exposed coastlines and are thought to have significantly impacted coral reefs on southern and western shorelines.
Live corals already were documented washed ashore on Kauaʻi, while underwater assessments are being mobilized to determine the extent of reef damage and marine debris.
This storm recorded strong enough winds to trigger a second payout from the reef insurance policy with The Nature Conservancy in collaboration with Hawaiʻi Emergency Reef Restoration Network.
The payout of $300,000 will fund reef damage assessment and repair following the impacts from Lowell.
This comes 2 weeks after The Nature Conservancy on Aug. 21 received the first-ever payout of $200,000 after Hurricane Lala brought dangerous flooding, strong winds and massive power outages throughout the state, with the most damage occurring on Hawaiʻi Island.
The policy has been active since 2022 and is designed to rapidly disburse funding when hurricanes or severe tropical storms produce windspeeds of 57 mph or stronger near the Islands.
“In an era when climate-related hazards are occurring more often and intensely, we need innovative ways to support ecosystems and people. Parametric insurance, with its swift and flexible payouts, is one option to catalyze repair and restoration of reefs that protect coastal areas from storm damage,” said The Nature Conservancy Climate and Disaster Risk Finance Senior Manager Eric Roberts. “Hawaiʻi’s program is a model that could be applied to other reefs and ecosystems throughout the [United States] and beyond.”
Distribution of the payout will be determined collaboratively with the Hawaiʻi Emergency Reef Restoration Network.
Funds will enable the network — a coordinated statewide coalition of government agencies, scientists, nonprofits and community groups — to assess reefs throughout the state after the storm and determine next steps to rescue, reattach and repair damaged corals as well as build capacity for reef restoration.
The team is still addressing the damage caused by Hurricane Lala. The group will meet to determine the best course of action to catalyze reef recovery in areas impacted by the latest storm.
“A top priority will be to facilitate reef damage assessments following this storm. Given what we saw with Hurricane Lala, I think the best thing we can do is work to understand impacts as quickly as possible,” said The Nature Conservancy Hawaiʻi and Palmyra Coral Restoration Program Manager Julia Rose. “Understanding damage is the first step in being able to address some amount of it. But I also see that storm-driven reef damage has historically been overlooked and underdocumented in Hawai‘i.”
The amount of corals lost during Hurricanes ʻIniki in 1992 or ʻIwa in 1982 are unknown, outside anecdotal evidence. Officials also don’t know if there was any reef recovery following those two storms or how long it took.
“Bringing attention and resources to this effort, even if we can only address a small fraction of the damage, will hopefully have lasting impacts on future responses and stewardship of our reefs,” Rose said.
