HONOLULU — Crews began repairing the only cargo port on one of Hawaii’s smallest main islands while power was being restored to another island Thursday, two days after Hurricane Lowell skirted along the state’s western edge. At least two deaths were linked to the storm.
On the island of Kauai, intense wind and surging waves damaged oceanfront resorts, ripped apart roads and knocked out power, prompting tourism officials to urge visitors to stay away for now. On Lanai, a harbor that supplies much of the food and fuel to its 3,300 residents was inoperable and will take about two weeks to repair, state officials said.
The overall destruction to Hawaii’s infrastructure, businesses and homes was expected to be the worst from a storm since Hurricane Iniki, a Category 4 storm that walloped Kauai in 1992 and caused $3 billion in damage.
While it has been a relatively quiet Atlantic hurricane season, there have been four hurricanes in the Pacific since the beginning of August. Another tropical storm formed Thursday, but it was not expected to make landfall.
Tourism takes a hit
Officials urged travelers to reschedule trips to Kauai or shift their destination to another island. Thousands of customers, including some resorts, remained without power, and crews continued clearing roads of downed trees and toppled utility poles.
“Adjusting your itinerary allows you to continue your Hawaiʻi vacation while supporting the state’s broader visitor economy as Kauaʻi recovers,” Caroline Anderson, interim president and chief executive officer of the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority, said in a statement.
Kauai sees only a small fraction of Hawaii’s almost 10 million visitors each year, but tourism is its top economic driver, with people coming from all over to take in its tropical landscapes, waterfalls and dramatic cliffs. Local estimates say tourism accounts for 4 out of every 10 jobs on the island.
The hurricane’s powerful storm surge buckled and washed away roads, knocked down the walls of homes and flooded resorts, sending rapids through a hotel lobby, overturning furniture and leaving debris everywhere. Extensive lines backed up at Kauai’s primary airport Thursday as people tried to depart the island.
Despite running a restaurant business, Kelly Kakalia, co-owner of The Musubi Truck, with three locations across Kauai, said she is not overly worried about the interruption to tourism.
“I would be silly to say tourism doesn’t drive our economy,” she said, but “our island needs time to rest and rebuild and make sure locals have power and water” before welcoming back tourists.
“If we take a little hit, that’s just part of it,” Kakalia said.
Governor asks Trump to declare a disaster
Democratic Gov. Josh Green asked President Donald Trump on Wednesday to issue a major disaster declaration to expedite federal help for Kauai and Maui counties.
“We cannot wait for every damaged road, utility pole, harbor and public facility to be assigned a dollar value before asking the federal government to act,” Green said in making the request.
At Lanai’s main harbor, the storm opened a sinkhole, damaged part of the pier and scattered containers in the water, according to the state’s Transportation Department.
Planning was underway on other options to get supplies to the island, which sees only a few visitors. Billionaire Larry Ellison bought nearly all of the island in 2012 for about $300 million from the owner of agriculture and real estate company Castle & Cooke Inc.
First responders on Kauai’s south end found the body of a 74-year-old man Wednesday near the shoreline. Authorities believe his death was related to the storm surge, police said.
Another man was killed on Oahu when a large tree fell on his tent Monday during the storm, the governor said. The man was homeless and living in a park.
