State and county authorities are picking up the pieces after last weekend’s Kona low storm.
Civil defense and emergency management agencies across Hawai‘i’s counties are still tallying up reports of damage to buildings and infrastructure caused by the storm.
On O‘ahu, Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Molly Pierce told Aloha State Daily on Monday that the department had received approximately 70 reports of damage to residences, most of which involved water infiltrating into homes.
Meanwhile, any damage to county roadways on O‘ahu was mostly of the “nuisance variety,” Pierce said: fallen trees, potholes, minor landslides and guardrail damage, nothing that forced a road to close long-term.
Diane Ako, spokeswoman for the State Department of Accounting and General Services, told ASD that the State Capitol saw some leaking storm lines “within a few occupied spaces” on the building’s ground floor. Beyond that, however, Ako said via email that all facilities DAGS manages on O‘ahu were open for business Monday.
Maui County saw more significant damage, notably a partial road collapse on South Kihei Road on the island’s Leeward side. Ako told ASD that Pukalani Elementary School lost portions of its roof, while the Lahaina Health Center may have sustained significant damage as well; however, DAGS is still investigating reports of damage.
A Maui County news release Monday afternoon stated that multiple roadways remain blocked and that travel on Hāna Highway is consequently limited to local traffic only. All Maui County parks facilities remain closed as damage assessments continue.
Meghan Wright, spokeswoman for Kaua‘i Emergency Management Agency, told ASD that the only reported storm-related damage to Kaua‘i County infrastructure was a partial roof collapse over an office at the Līhu‘e baseyard, although damage assessments continue countywide.
Hawai‘i County officials did not respond to requests for comment. However, Ako said no work order requests have been made regarding storm damage to county buildings in East Hawai‘i, although one Department of Education campus had a “tree issue.”
The state Department of Transportation issued Monday afternoon a summary of work by road crews throughout the state. Specific projects on O‘ahu include storm drain repairs by the Interstate H-1 westbound Pali Highway offramp, pumping water from the kauhale community at Waimānalo and slope repairs along the Kalaiana‘ole and Pali highways.
DOT projects on other islands were less specific, but included debris removal, pothole repairs and inspections on each island.
Hawaiian Electric reported throughout the weekend that as many as 217,000 customers had lost power statewide during the storm. As of Monday afternoon, HECO reported that around 12,540, mostly on Maui or Hawai‘i Island, remained without power.
HECO spokesman Darren Pai told ASD that the company has had some 350 crew members working non-stop through the weekend and on Monday to restore power for customers.
“This storm didn’t have a name, but it was still extremely significant,” Pai said. “Some customers have lost power for days, and we know how difficult and frustrating that is … We feel it too, these are our homes too.”
Pai said the majority of power outages were caused by trees or branches falling on power lines, which HECO prepares for year-round with a “very aggressive” vegetation management program.
“You can’t control Mother Nature,” Pai said. “Being able to respond quickly and appropriately is some of the best preparations you can do.”
Meanwhile, the O‘ahu Department of Transportation Services temporarily shut down the eastern half of its Skyline rail system on Friday out of concern for a power outage potentially stranding passengers. By Saturday, Skyline returned to its ordinary schedule, despite sporadic power outages at its Leeward Community College station.
DTS spokesman Travis Ota told ASD via email that some Skyline riders did have to use TheBus on Saturday following temporary disruptions.
According to numbers provided by Ota, there were 5,473 Skyline riders on Friday and 3,771 on Saturday, each day roughly half of the typical ridership for those days.
Residents are encouraged to report storm damage to their county's emergency response agencies. O‘ahu residents can do so here, Hawai‘i Islanders can do so here, Kaua‘i residents can do so here and Maui residents can do so here.
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