The secret to surviving a hurricane is by creating “distance from you and the hurricane,” said Waimea resident Dwight Dʻarmas.
He and his wife drove nearly an hour from the westside of Kauaʻi to seek refuge at the Kapaʻa Middle School on the islandʻs east side.
“If you know a place is going to be dangerous, you get away from that place,” he said.
But no place on Kauaʻi was completely safe from Lowellʻs wrath.
On the night of Labor Day, usually a busy time on the touristy island of Kauaʻi, residents and tens of thousands of visitors hunkered down across the island as Hurricane Lowell, then a category 2 storm with sustained winds of 110 mph, passed to the west.
It was a terrifying night for most, with the storm brining howling powerful winds, heavy rain, dangerous surf and storm surge that flooded many homes and businesses.
Before the storm, homeowners and businesses across the island had boarded up windows, and moved signs, outdoor furniture and other equipment inside.
The preparations echoed memories of Hurricane Iniki, which devastated Kauai in 1992.
The storm also disrupted the island’s normally busy visitor economy. Travelers on Kauaʻi faced canceled or disrupted activities — including the cancelation of the soldout Kauaʻi Marathon and Half-Marathon. There also were closures and limited transportation with officials working to keep people away from dangerous coastal areas.
Emergency responders stressed that a hurricane is not a weather event to watch from the beach or roads.
Residents and tourists were urged to shelter in a sturdy structure, stay away from shorelines and avoid driving through floodwaters.
In addition to the forecast of high winds, heavy rain, high surf and storm surge, forecasters also issued a tornado warning a little after 4 p.m. and emergency siren began to sound off on Niʻihau as thunderstorms associated with Lowell moved across the island.
The tornado threat added another layer of danger to an already volatile night. Fortunately, the tornadoes did not occur.
Kauaʻi officials closed county and state facilities, schools and parks as conditions worsened. Līihue Airport also closed at 2:30 p.m. on Monday and flights were canceled, stranding many visitors on Kauaʻi as the storm was approaching.
“Now is the time to shelter in place,” Kauaʻi Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami said in a county update Monday afternoon.
By 2 p.m. on Labor Day, storefronts were shuttered, windows were covered, and more than 100 people and their pets took refuge in one of the five official shelters on the island.
To make things even more scary, 90% of the island lost power overnight, making communication difficult and making it impossible for many to know what was going on. As of Wednesday morning, power was still out to 90% of the island, about 33,000 customers.
By 5 a.m. Tuesday, the first sound many residents heard was the echo of chainsaws. As daylight spread across Kauaʻi’s North Shore, residents emerged from homes and shelters to find roads littered with branches, trunks, tangled vegetation and trees blocking driveways.
From Princeville towards Kalihiwai Ridge, community members began clearing what they could. Among them was local Pastor Kyle with “You turn to Christ” church.
He spent the early morning working alongside members of his church were using chainsaws to clear away trees and other vegetation that had fallen across Kūhio Highway on the Kalihiwai Bridge. Some community members used machetes. Others dragged the cut trees and smaller branches off Kūhio Highway by hand.
The entire bridge was completely covered with debris and downed trees. It was completely unrecogizable and impassable.
“We live here, so we get here,” the pastor said. “We have the Lord on our side. We come with confidence and we do what we can do. We are hoping for the best for our community and thatʻs why we are here to serve. Serve our neighbors, our brotherʻs our sisters, and serve God.”
Visitors who had been caught by Lowell joined joined residents, helping move debris and clear access.
Tuesday morning, Brian Montero with the Hawaii Department of Transportation told Kauaʻi Now crews were working to have the road “exposed and and opened up.”
“We need all the cars to back up so we can get the equipment so that they can help,” he said. “We need emergency vehicles to get across as soon as they can, but as you know we have traffic on both sides.”
For several hours residents and visitors continued clearing smaller sections of roadway, opening enough space for people to drive through.
By 2 p.m. police blocked sections of the road allowing only county crews and exchavators to move in and take over areas where debris was too large or dangerous for residents to handle.
For visitors accustomed to seeing Kauaʻi as a paradise destination, the aftermath offered a different view of the island.
One visitor asked: “Is there a different road we could take?” Another asked if they would make their “evening flight back home.”
By 4 p.m. the Hawaiʻi National Guard teams was seen going door to door checking on residents. One guardsman said the team had arrived from Oʻahu at 6 p.m. on Monday was was stationed at the Hanalei Fire Station.
This was just the start of a long recovery for Kauaʻi.
