‘It just took everything’: Waiohinu family reeling after home wrecked by Lala

WAIʻŌHINU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A Waiʻōhinu family is still without running water and electricity more than two weeks since Hurricane Lala nearly destroyed their home.

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“This is where we’re staying in the house right now,” Justin Subica Kawakami said as he showed us the living room where cushions and a couch are serving as beds.

The Subica-Kawakami family is doing their best to get by after experiencing the worst flooding of their lives.

“Once the water bust through, it just took everything and anything that was left in here,” Subica Kawakami said. “Anything we left behind, it was just gone. Water was just too strong.”

The storm completely changed the face of the gulch adjacent to the home. The family estimates it grew three times in size.

Flood waters washed away trees, clearing a path of destruction. It also pushed massive boulder into the backside of their home, breaking its walls, and shifting it off its foundation.

“We thought Kona low was gonna be worse, but apparently Lala took us for a spill,” Iris Subica said.

When the walls of the home were breached, the family was forced to flee to the safety of their garage.

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“Water came up, almost to probably about my knee level,” Subica Kawakami added.

The five family members who live in the home survived, but two of their pet dogs along with buried remains of another were swept away.

“This is the part of the house that got damaged, and then you see back here was an old kitchen,” Kent Kawakami said.

Without reliable water, and electricity, donated goods are a valuable lifeline.

“We have this little Japanese little bocha house,” Subica said. “We have the two burner gas stove, so we boil water and you know, simple bath.”

“It’s sad ʻcause my grandma worked hard for this house. She built it up,” Subica Kawakami said.

The family has set up a GoFundMe to rebuild their home, and say they are extremely grateful for the kind neighbors and volunteers who have already jumped in to help.

“We have the positive of the community that helps us so you know, I like to thank them because they’re being a big help for us,” Subica said.

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