‘I was shaking’: West Kauai residents ride out Hurricane Lowell, assess damage

WAIMEA (HawaiiNewsNow) – West Kauai residents are beginning to clean up and assess damage left behind by Hurricane Lowell.

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In Hanapepe, one home lost its roof during the storm.

Resident Tracy Valente said she rode out the hurricane inside the house, which was built in the 1950s.

She described the sound of her metal roof ripping away as similar to crackling thunder.

“Oh, I was shaking. I was like shaking and looking for all my things and trying to get out of the house,” Valente said. “I don’t wanna go again.”

Valente said she fled to her daughter’s nearby home after the roof came off.

Further west, the storm surge washed out the Waimea Pier and brought down several large trees.

In Kekaha, some homes were left with roof damage and missing shingles.

Resident Kalani Mahuka used his front loader early in the morning to help clear boulders and debris from Kaumualii Highway.

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“We didn’t know that had all the rocks on the road out there,” Mahuka said. “And then when I couldn’t get probably 10 feet down the road, that’s when I came back and loaded this up.”

He said floodwaters had already receded by the time he arrived, but large rocks and boulders remained scattered across the roadway.

Kaumualii Highway was largely cleared quickly, though some areas were reduced to one lane as crews continued cleanup.

Despite the damage, residents said spirits remain high, with neighbors checking on one another and helping kupuna as recovery efforts begin.

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