Storm surge of aloha sweeps across social media as Big Island communities step up to help neighbors in Hone’s aftermath

Just after midnight on Aug. 25, about 2 hours before Category 1 Hurricane Hone would make its closest approach to the Big Island some 45 miles south-southwest of South Point, a surge of aloha began to sweep across Puna and Kaʻū social media.

In post after post on social media, community members offered assistance to neighbors and strangers who needed help, food, generators and rides.  Some people put together community crews to help with clean up, driveway repairs, downed trees and other post-storm needs.

Some residents reached out for the help. 

“This is a long shot … but the storm messed with our electricity and broke our fridge/freezer,” posted Azzi Parker of Pāhoa at 6:25 p.m. on Aug. 27 in the Buy Nothing Big Island group on Facebook. “Anyone happen to have an extra one lying around …”

As Hone passed by, several power surges at their home fried their refrigerator. Azi Parker said her family of six, including four keiki, made do with a cooler and ice for about three days before reaching out to the community.

She said almost instantly people tried to help her find one, and on the morning of Aug. 28, she woke up to a message about a free fridge she could pick up in the Kahena area of Puna.

A member of the group had found it on another app and shared Parker’s information with the person who had the fridge. “Networking!” as Parker put it.

The family picked it up later that afternoon and she reported it works great.

“I love how our community comes together in times of crisis,” Parker said.

Some community members even wanted to ensure people’s spiritual needs were met.

“The weather this morning is hurricane-inspired — our worship this morning is still on schedule, 7 a.m. and 9 a.m.,” wrote The Cathedral of St. Andrew of Honolulu on Aug. 25 in a 6 a.m. post on Facebook, adding its 9 a.m. service would be live-streamed. “All are most welcome in person and online — please be safe!”

The cathedral also offered a short prayer: “Lighten our darkness, we beseech the, o Lord; and by they great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers.”

Those words and the live-stream couldn’t have come at a better time for the congregation of St. Jude’s Episcopal Church in Ocean View, which had to cancel its morning services that day.

At 8 p.m. on Aug. 24, when heavy rains and strong winds began to kick up and would last through the night, John Holloway was one of the first to offer help.

“Anyone in need of clean up, driveway repair, house repair or down trees from the storm tonight … let me know,” wrote Holloway in a post in the Ocean View Hawai‘i Community Bulletin Board group on Facebook. “We have a small community crew with a lot of talented people to help the community!!!”

“You guys are awesome!” commented Megan L. O’Dell of Ocean View on the post.

Fortunately, Holloway said he and his crew “didn’t get much of anyone asking for help” because “the storm didn’t hit as bad as it could have been, I suppose.”

Meghan van Bergeijk of Ocean View started a thread for people to post if they needed help if Hone’s aftermath and for others to check for what kinds of help is needed.

“I know it’s hard to ask for help but there plenty people who want to help,” wrote van Bergeijk in her 2:57 a.m. Aug. 27 post in the Ocean View Hawai‘i Community Bulletin Board group post. “If you need something just ask here and I know the community will try their best to get your immediate needs met. No shame, just ask. Thanks and aloha.”

Comments and replies to her post ranged from people seeking an electrician and others recommending professionals for the job, including sharing their phone numbers.

Another commenter was looking for help with part of a tree that had fallen and was just hanging down. Again, the community offered recommendations.

“Aloha. Does anyone have information if we have some emergency relief fund for Ocean View,” wrote Diana McKenzie of Ocean View in a 12:12 a.m. post in the Ocean View Hawai‘i Community Bulletin Board group. “I lost my solar panels and live alone with no transportation and hoping to find help with food that doesn’t need to be refrigerated now. I receive EBT, but not until the 3rd. Mahalo.”

Multiple community members offered information about places to get help. One person also offered to give her solar panels.

Kevin Begemann, who owns and operates Tai Shan Farms in Ocean View, offered to make and deliver McKenzie food.

“So caring,” said Darlene Springer.

Begemann, who has owned the farm since 2016 after moving to the Big Island from the mainland, said: “No one should go hungry. My wife and I live with abundant food resources and we believe it’s only right to share with those that need help.”

Tai Shan Farms produces dragon fruit, citrus, banana, avo, pineapple and a few other assorted crops. It also has a small food manufacturing and catering business.

Begemann said after the COVID-19 pandemic, he and his wife, a registered nurse, decided they would work to turn their farm into a food hub and resource for their community.

“We do our best to be an asset to our community, to help those in need no matter the circumstances,” he said. “Everyone should help one another. We’re so isolated, not only in [Ocean View], but here on the islands that community is the resource we need to strengthen and maintain.”

But Begemann said McKenzie never contacted him and his efforts to reach her were unsuccessful. 

At 12:02 a.m. on Aug. 25, Lopaka Palani-Lono Milliora of Hawaiian Acres made his first post in a new Facebook group he created originally to connect people in need with people who could offer assistance after the hurricane.

That group has since evolved into a place with “braddahs and sistahs coming together to help out each other with the aftermath of natural disasters.” The group now has 2,600-plus members from throughout the state.

Milliora was born and raised in Hawai‘i and went through Hurricanes Iwa and Iniki. He’s witnessed first-hand how the community comes out to help and shows aloha for one another.

“I lived here on the Big Island through [Hurricane/Tropical Storm] Iselle and remember going out the next morning after the storm with a buddy and our chainsaws, helping people cut and clear trees off roadways and driveways,” he said. “There were so many people doing the same thing, and people with their personal heavy equipment helped to clear the roads and direct traffic. … I figured this group could help connect people faster, and so far it has.”

Milliora said Hawai‘i County Civil Defense exists for a reason, but the new Hawai’i Natural Disasters Recovery group can assist the agency.

“It’s important for community members to take care of one another because that is the aloha spirit of Hawai‘i,” he said. “It’s our kuleana. We were raised that way, and we should always continue to do that.”

Crowdfunding efforts also are trying to help those affected by Hone.

Sherry Mastandrea and her son Jacob Satterwhite’s home, known as the Hobbit House and near Ha‘ao Springs in Wai‘ōhinu, was damaged by flash flood waters that rushed into the kitchen and back room, leaving 2 feet of mud and boulders covering the floor.

“Due to an increase in medical bills and having to pay out of pocket for medications, Sherry dropped her hurricane insurance because her monthly expenses became too much for her to afford,” the GoFundMe page said.

The funds will go toward removing the mud, replacing walls and new flooring. 

As of the afternoon of Aug. 31, 95 donations totaling $7,230 were made toward the $15,000 goal.

Hawai‘i County Councilwoman Michelle Galimba of Kaʻū was focused on supporting cleanup efforts, road repairs and transfer station availability in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane.

She said: “One of the reasons my district is a special place is that [we] are a far-flung collection of close-knit communities and families, where helping each other is just normal for rural people.”

Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz said people who grow up on the Big Island are taught when help is needed, you don’t wait to be asked, you act.

“Residents share their experiences and needs, and others respond just as quickly to lend a helping hand,” she said. “Hawai‘i Island is no stranger to natural disasters, and when challenges arise, so does our community.”