Retired professor identified as second Hurricane Lala victim on Hawaii Island

NĀʻĀLEHU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A second fatality from Hurricane Lala was identified by loved ones Thursday as the Nāʻālehu community races to recover before another tropical system arrives.

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A beloved fixture in the community

Friends identified the man as John Hylas, a man known in the community for his love of nature and kind heart.

Hylas was in his 60s — a marathon runner, retired Cornell University physics professor, and a regular at the town’s coffee shop, Honua’s Coffee House.

Friends say he was there almost every single day since it first opened.

“He had so many quirks, and he was so fun to talk to,” said Honua’s Coffee owner Kaala Honua. “He was such a friendly guy in the community and he always talk to everyone. He filled the silence with some sort of comment. Whether it’s ‘Woohoo, super mom!’ breaking the tension, breaking the silence. I feel like his seat will be super empty.”

Honua’s wife, Janet, added, “I’m going to miss his positive energy. He was extremely supportive of everyone. He loved kids. He would always scream, ‘Keiki power!’”

The couple said Hylas loved nature, and his favorite routine was to get his coffee and sit outside.

“Tourists all day every day, he made friends with everyone,” Kaala Honua said. “He was so in love with the volcano, and he tracked every single movement and whenever it was about to erupt, he would talk to families and then hitch a ride, and then he’d be gone for the weekend. Other than that, he was here every single day.”

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Business struggles with power, water outages

Honua’s Coffee is struggling to survive with no power or water.

The Honuas say they don’t know when, or if, they will be able to reopen, and are making do with what they have to help their community.

Click here to support the Honuas’ recovery efforts.

Cleanup continues in Nāʻālehu

Throughout the rest of the town, cleanup and recovery efforts are moving forward, though many are concerned Tropical Depression Two-C will make things worse.

One gas station is open and operating entirely on a generator. Further down the road, crews cleared streams ahead of this weekend’s impending severe weather.

Along Kaʻalāiki Road, floodwaters from Hurricane Lala washed graves and headstones down from the Naʻalehu Cemetery.

Archaeologists were on site Thursday, flagging recovered remains and marking disrupted plots.

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