Tovin Lapan
They say bad things come in threes. If the old saying proves true, Hawaii should have a calm remainder of 2018 as its third natural disaster in the last five months, Hurricane Lane, caused flooding on multiple islands as it made its way across the state.
In April a record rainfall deluged the northern coast of Kauai, causing floods that created several landslides and severely damaging numerous homes and other structures. Repairs from the floods are ongoing. In May, the active volcano Kilauea spewed ash into the sky and sent rivers of lava through the southeastern portion of Hawaii Island, destroying whole neighborhoods and causing the longest-running closure of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on record.
Just as the volcano seemed to be calming down, and the alert was downgraded from a warning to a watch, officials turned their attention to Hurricane Lane, a storm in the Pacific Ocean that at one point reached Category 5 status, and was heading for the Islands.
Local and federal disaster declarations were made as the Aloha State prepared for the worst, with much riding on the final path of the storm. Residents and visitors were urged to shelter in place, and some people, especially on Hawaii Island, which received the most rain, had to be evacuated from their homes due to flooding. An estimated 270,000 travelers were visiting the state when the storm reached the islands, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
Lane reached Hawaii Island as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds up to 145 mph on Thursday. The eye of the storm tracked south of the Islands on a westerly course from Hawaii Island past Maui, then Oahu and Kauai. With each passing day, the storm weakened, and eventually fell from hurricane to tropical storm status by 5 p.m. local time on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
The Island of Hawaii took the brunt of the storm, receiving up to 36 inches of rain on the island's east side in a 24-hour period along with reports of flash flooding in several areas, according to the National Weather Service. More than three dozen homes needed to be evacuated due to flooding, and some structures were damaged in the storm. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park recently announced plans to partially reopen the currently off-limits parts of the park by Sept. 22. The one area of the park that has remained open during the last few months of volcanic eruptions, the Kahuku Unit, reopened over the weekend after after being briefly closed during the storm.
Nicole Naughten, co-owner of Hale Ohu Bed and Breakfast in Volcano Village, said Thursday that they had seen 8 inches of rain in a 12-hour period but had thus far avoided any damages or flooding.
"Honestly, we had a storm last October that tore through overnight that was worse," she said.
Gary Marrow, co-owner of tour operator KapohoKine Adventures on Hawaii Island, said there was "a lot of rain" but the winds were not as strong as he anticipated.
The company's offices were virtually inaccessible Thursday and Friday due to flooding and some landslides, but all operations and tours were up and running again by Sunday.
"It looks like we're going to be fine," Marrow said.
All state and county parks on the east side of Hawaii Island remained closed Sunday, and more rain is expected this week, which could delay clean up and make conditions in some areas worse.
All of the airports on Hawaii Island remained open during the storm and nearly all visitors who remained on the island were able to shelter in place, according to Ross Birch, director of the Island of Hawaii Visitors Bureau. There was no major damage reported at any of the island's hotels, Birch said, while some smaller properties suffered minor rain or flood damage.
As the storm approached Maui, first responders also were dealing with three brush fires that broke out on the evening of Aug. 25. The fires burned 2,330 acres and forced the evacuation of 100 homes just as high winds and heavy rains landed on the Valley Isle. As of Sunday, the fires were contained, no major damage was reported to hotels, and the island's airports and transportation system were operating on their normal schedule. Assessments are ongoing, but other than some flooding and temporary road closures, Hawaii averted the greater damage estimates feared if Lane had arrived at greater strength. Flash flood warnings are still in effect for many areas of the islands, and more rain is forecasted across the state this week.
Numerous public areas and tourist attractions closed through the weekend in anticipation of the storm and planned to assess damage and announce reopening plans on Sunday and Monday. Outside of certain areas, like Hawaii Island's east coast, most operations were returning to normal by Monday. Harbors across Hawaii were reopened over the weekend after the Coast Guard closed them prior to the storm. The Bishop Museum in Honolulu announced that it had escaped the storm relatively unscathed and reopened Sunday morning. Also on Oahu, the Pearl Harbor Visitors Center, Battleship Missouri Memorial, Honolulu Zoo, and Wet'n'Wild water park in Kapolei were also scheduled to be open by Monday or earlier.
There were flight cancellations on Maui and Oahu over the weekend, and airlines were working to rebook a backlog of travelers, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Hawaiian Airlines, Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines are all waiving reservation change fees for guests holding tickets to, from, within, and via Hawaii from Aug. 22 to 26 due to Hurricane Lane.
The central Pacific does not experience as many tropical storms as the Atlantic or Eastern Pacific, and just two tropical storms and two hurricanes have made landfall in Hawaii since 1959. A named storm passes within 60 miles of the state roughly every four years. Hurricane Dot came in 1959, and most recently Hurricane Iniki caused an estimated $3 billion in damage when it hit Kauai in 1992.