Hurricane Lala devastates Ka‘ū District; damaged bridges block access to communities

Hawai‘i County Mayor Kimo Alameda and acting Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira flew over the rural southern district of Kaʻū Sunday morning to survey the damage left in the wake of Hurricane Lala.

Alameda used one word to describe what he saw: “Devastation.”

The Big Island just experienced a Category I hurricane that brought 80 mph winds and flash floods to the south side “like I’ve never seen before,” the mayor said during a press conference on Sunday.

While Alameda laid out the many impacts to the district, there was good news. Currently, no people are reported missing and there are no known storm-related deaths. A man died Saturday morning in a head-on collision in Ocean View, but temporary fire chief Daniel Volpe said he does not think it was due to the storm.

A woman was swept away Saturday night when her home was knocked off its foundation in Wai‘ohinu by raging flood waters, but she was later found about a 100 yards away and was taken to the hospital with “moderate injuries,” Volpe said.

Another home also was knocked off its foundation, but did not move far.

Six bridges were either destroyed or severely damaged, resulting in Pāhala, along with the Ka‘ū Hospital, being cut off. The county’s Nā‘ālehu Cemetery was impacted, with at least one casket found unearthed in town on a mound of mud.

A Hawai‘i County paramedic and EMT had to be rescued off the roof of their ambulance after rushing water pushed it into a guardrail while they were responding to a call with the Hawai‘i National Guard.

Oliveira said the Ka‘ū District will have long-standing road and bridge challenges, creating access issues for residents who might be isolated.

Alameda assured the community that Hawai‘i County was going to do its best to bring swift recovery to the residents of Ka‘ū and around the island.

As the storm progressed on Saturday, Alameda said the rain started at 5 inches to 10 inches then jumped to 15 to 20 inches. The county went from 10 road closures to 30. Power outages started at 15,000 and have reached 50,800, impacting customers on the east side and south sides of the island plus Waimea and Honoka‘a.

“I mean, all of this devastation,” Alameda said.

As of Sunday afternoon, there were 41 people at the Nā‘ālehu shelter, and about 13 at the Pāhala shelter. Fifteen people sheltered in a place at a neighbor’s home in Nā‘ālehu. Alameda said most of the individuals were able to transport themselves to the shelters, while some were assisted by emergency personnel.

Hawai‘i County’s Public Works Department is working with the state, along with some help from the Hawai‘i National Guard, to gain access to the Ka‘ū communities on the east side.

Search and rescue operations were conducted Saturday night in response to emergency calls and flooded roadways after reports of the two homes being swept away by floodwaters. People were told to move to higher ground or to stay in place if they were safe.

Volpe told media at the press conference that crews continue to search and conduct rescue missions until they have cleared the area.

“At this time, we have no additional reports of anyone missing,” Volpe said. “We continue our efforts and will continue to replace services that have been cut off or lost at this moment.”

Volpe said crews targeted areas, including Wai‘ohinu and Nā‘ālehu, where they received 9-1-1 calls Saturday about flooding.

“We targeted that area while conditions were worse,” Volpe said. “As things get better, we now are going systematically through the neighborhoods to make sure that, again, in those most impacted areas, we haven’t missed anything.”

Volpe provided more details about the woman who was swept away during the press conference. He said Ka‘ū resident had gone outside Saturday night and tried to get in her vehicle.

“The vehicle had pushed up against her with the storm surge or with the surge of the water,” Volpe said, adding that the woman was pinned and eventually taken with the rushing waters.

She was found Sunday morning about 100 yards from a family location near her home that was swept off the foundation. She was taken by ground ambulance to the hospital, where she is being treated for moderate injuries.

Alameda said flying over was touching to see community come together, but also hurtful.

“These are families that I know, an auntie, an uncle, a nephew. And so it’s close to home for me,” he said. “I got to tell you folks, Ka‘ū, you guys are super resilient. Coming out of this, there are going to be a lot of quiet heroes, and I see it already.”

Families trying to return to their homes in Kaʻū were turned around near the Piʻikea Bridge about 3 miles north of Pāhala. 

Crews removed huge fallen trees that covered Highway 11, closing it to traffic during Hurricane Lala. 

Ed and Edie Kim hoped to go back to their property in South Point, but were turned around by crews removing huge fallen trees that covered Highway 11. While in the area, they decided to get out of the car and look at the rushing runoff that rushed underneath Piʻikea Bridge. 

“I’ve lived here for a long time and have never seen anything like this at all,” Ed Kim said. “Our neighbor told us that our property was fine with a few fallen trees, but I heard Nāʻālehu got the brunt of it.”

According to Kim, he also heard that the highway had “washed away” between Pahala and Nāʻālehu during the storm. 

“It’s hard to know exactly what is going on, but this hurricane was detrimental to Kaʻū. 

Residents were told they might be able to return to their properties tomorrow, but they were not given any guarantee or firm timeline. 

As the county continues to address storm damages and power outages, county leaders advise residents to stay off the roads as much as possible.

Hawai‘i County Police Chief Reed Mahuna commended the community on Sunday for staying home as it kept county personnel from performing rescues, allowing them to stay focused on Lala.

“We’re going to get through it together,” Mahuna said. “We’re going to care of one another and be patient with one another. And we’re going to see this thing through.”

Oliveira said Civil Defense is in communication with the governor’s office and looking at doing a joint preliminary damage assessment as it pertains to critical infrastructure that may have been lost in Lala.

Oliveira said Civil Defense will be sending crews out to do “windshield assessments,” which will be followed up by a joint preliminary damage assessment with the county and state.

“That will trigger a request for the presidential declaration for the individual assistance program as well,” he said.

Oliveira is asking people to report any damages or requests for assistance to the Civil Defense here. These reports will help the county when seeking funding assistance.

Civil Defense also will be conducting outreach and starting to connect impacted community members with appropriate resources, Oliveira said.

Staff writer Kelsey Walling contributed to this report.