Following the weekend arrival of Hurricane Lala, which brought heavy rain, high winds and destruction to parts of the Islands, some Hawai‘i businesses are evaluating the damage.
"We're still gathering a full picture, but the early reports we're hearing from members, particularly on Hawai‘i Island, track with what's been reported publicly: power outages, flooding and downed trees affecting operations," Sherry Menor, president and CEO of Chamber of Commerce Hawai‘i told Aloha State Daily Monday in an emailed response to questions. "For small businesses, even a short outage can mean lost inventory, canceled bookings or days of lost revenue they can't easily absorb. The biggest immediate need is usually the same after any disruption like this: clear information on when power and access will be restored, and some breathing room on things like loan payments or rent while they get back up and running."
Menor says that information — when the power will be restored and when it's safe to reopen — is the most immediate need for businesses affected by the storm.
"Beyond that, it's cash flow," she says. "A business that's closed for even a few days, or that lost perishable inventory, doesn't have the cushion to just absorb that loss. Things like payroll, rent and loan payments don't pause just because the power did. What helps most in these situations is flexibility: from lenders, landlords and insurers willing to work with businesses during recovery, and clear guidance on what disaster assistance is actually available to them.
"And for the public, if a local business is open and it's safe to do so, visiting in person or shopping online is one of the most direct ways to help. Every bit of business helps them get back on their feet."
According to Menor, Chamber of Commerce Hawai‘i has been in close contact with the Hawai‘i Island Chamber of Commerce and the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce, organizations that are "on the ground and closely connected with the affected communities."
"Once damage assessments are more complete, we will work with those chambers and the legislators serving those districts to provide support," she says.
In the meantime, businesses can access the chamber's Business Resilience resource hub, which Menor says connects businesses to "trusted preparedness and recovery tools," including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Administration disaster loans, U.S. Department of Agriculture emergency assistance for agricultural producers, Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance programs and more.
Menor says the hub is meant to be a starting point, a single place where businesses can go to find the right agency or program for their situation, rather than having to search separately. Affected businesses are encouraged to start there, she says, or you can reach out to the chamber directly if you need help finding the right resource.
"Small businesses are the backbone of Hawaii's economy, making up a large percentage of the businesses here," she says. "They don't have the same cushion larger companies do, so even a few days of disruption can be a real setback. Beyond the direct damage, there's a ripple effect: tourism-dependent businesses see cancellations, supply chains get delayed, and recovery costs pull resources away from growth. It's a reminder of how important resilience planning is for our small business community, and why we keep pushing for that as part of ongoing work of the 2030 Blueprint for Hawaiʻi.
Dave Erdman, interim president and CEO of Retail Merchants of Hawai‘i, told ASD in an email that before the storm, retailers helped their local communities with merchandise to prepare them for the hurricane.
"From water, food, non-perishables, items that would last a long time, to tarps, generators, coolers, you name it to help in the event of power being out temporarily or for an extended period of time," he says. "The stores stayed open as long as possible and then made decisions to close to get their team members home to prepare their own homes and support their families."
Erdman says the biggest challenge now is for retailers on Neighbor Islands to get shipments from O‘ahu to replenish critical items like water, peanut butter and items that don't need electricity to cook, as well as items for recovery.
"The ships leave on a schedule and we are hearing [that] one retailer has their logistics warehouse in [the] Mililani area and has no power to get the items to load on a truck to get to the ships. [They] missed two to the Neighbor Islands already."
RMH has more than 120 member companies across the Islands, including retailers, shopping centers, dining establishments in retail or shopping centers, professional service companies that support the retail industry, and logistics companies, Erdman says. "Quite a few" of those members are on Hawai‘i Island, which received the brunt of the storm.
Gov. Josh Green on Sunday said that more than 100 homes on Hawai‘i Island were damaged or destroyed by the hurricane, and that some parts of the Big island received more than two feet of rain.
As of 2:30 p.m. Monday, nearly 104,000 Hawaiian Electric customers across the state remained without power, according to a 4 p.m. update from the utility.
Erdman told ASD that power is the biggest need and challenge for retailers affected by the hurricane — not just in stores, but warehouses, logistics locations and other facilities, to get items loaded and shipped to the Neighbor Islands, as is the safety of employees and team members.
RMH is supporting affected businesses by communicating with its members and county officials, he says.
"Retail is critical to the communities they serve, [offering goods] from general household items, cleaning supplies, tools, lumber, water, food, drugs and pharmacy items, all types of merchandise to help prior and after a hurricane or storm like this — and gas!
"Also, our retailers serve the visitor industry across all Islands and visitors have special needs also," Erdman continued. "Many hotels did not have power and visitors were in search for food and other important items of necessity. Retail and our Retail Merchants of Hawai‘i members are critical to the lives of our residents and visitors, and their team members in times like this go way above and beyond to service their guests and their communities."
Meanwhile, everything for upcoming Made in Hawai‘i Festival, which kicks off Thursday at the Hawai‘i Convention Center, continues to move forward.
This year, the largest-ever MIHF — set for Aug. 20 to 23 at the Hawai‘i Convention Center — will span more than 300,000 square feet across two floors and showcase more than 800 local artisans, makers and entrepreneurs. Festival spokesperson Olena Heu told ASD on Monday that one vendor, a honey bee farmer from Hawai‘i Island, pulled out due to the storm, "other than that, everything has been moving along."
Other impacts
Some businesses are sharing their stories on social media.
The nonprofit Lāna‘i Cat Sanctuary, for example, said in an Instagram post that the storm brought "significant rain and flooding" throughout its facility and "strong winds that damaged trees, structures and other areas of the property."
Executive Director Keoni Vaughn told ASD in an email that, most importantly, all of the sanctuary's 707 cats and its staff are safe.
"We closed the sanctuary during the storm out of an abundance of caution for our staff and visitors," he says. "Our team prepared the property ahead of the hurricane by securing loose materials, checking the enclosures and making sure the cats had access to sheltered areas throughout the sanctuary."
Vaughn says sanctuary did, however, sustain a "fair amount" of damage but there was no damage to its perimeter fencing. The current estimate is roughly $15,000 to $20,000, not including lost revenue from being closed for the day or the impact of the ferry to the island not running the day before the storm, he told ASD.
"Some of the larger losses include a carport that will cost about $4,000 to $6,000 to replace and rebuild, a storage shed and its contents at around $2,300, an estimated $3,000 to $5,000 in gravel that was washed away, and roughly $500 to $1,000 for tree and branch removal. We also lost approximately 30 cat houses and feeding stations, which we estimate will cost about $5,000 to replace.
"Right now, our most immediate need is covering those unexpected repair and recovery costs and getting the sanctuary fully cleaned up and restored."
For anyone who would like to help with the sanctuary's recovery, you can donate here or shop its Amazon wishlist here.
Vaughn says the sanctuary has reopened and is back to its normal hours of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Cleanup and repairs are already underway, with the work expected to continue over the coming days and weeks, he noted.
"Thankfully the weather has cleared up as we are flying our veterinary team up from O‘ahu later in the week," Vaughn says. "We are incredibly grateful that everyone is safe and that the damage was manageable. We have also been overwhelmed by how many people have reached out to check on the cats and offer their support. It really means a lot to our team."
Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.
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