PHOTOS: Hurricane Iselle – Before & After
Despite being a relatively weak hurricane, Iselle did more than her fair share of damage. Here is a brief summary of pictures chronicling the storm’s arrival and aftermath.
The Day Before
On Wednesday morning, Aug. 7, our Big Island Now writers took a brief break from covering the storm to snap some photos of an eerily quiet and beautiful Hilo day.
Meanwhile, Wailuku River calmly bubbled along, steadily carrying water from the mountains to the ocean as it has for centuries.
Arrival of the Storm
A day later, as rain began to fall, Wailuku River looked much different.
High winds and heavy rainfall began to hit East Hawai`i.
The Aftermath
Although tens of thousands of Big Island residents experienced power outages and high winds, nowhere was hit harder than Puna.
Trees and power lines could be seen downed everywhere.

A house sits surrounded buy felled trees in Hawaiian Paradise Park. Big Island Now reader submission.
Cleanup
Hawaii National Guard soldiers joined with Hawaiian Electric Company and Hawai`i County Employees to assist with tree removal and power restoration.

A Humvee from the Hawai`i National Guard sits along the side of a road in Leilani Estates. Photo by Kristin Hashimoto.

Some Puna residents managed to maintain a good sense of humor during the cleanup. Photo by Kristin Hashimoto.

A worker picks through debris while clearing power lines in Leilani Estates. Photo by Kristin Hashimoto.
A Puna street sign sits tangled in electrical wiring.
No Rainbows Here
Rainbow Falls continues to empty out the remnants of Hurricane Iselle’s heavy rainfall.

Rainbow Falls state park sits closed as the remnants of Hurricane Iselle wash through East Hawai`i’s network of streams and rivers. Photo by Kristin Hashimoto.
Here’s a previous photo of Rainbow Falls for comparison.