How to help: Relief organizations mobilize aid after Hurricane Lowell

News admin September 12, 2026 0 Comments

How to help: Relief organizations mobilize aid after Hurricane Lowell

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Organizations across Hawaiʻi are stepping up to help communities hit hardest by Hurricane Lowell, with relief efforts shifting as needs become clearer on Kauaʻi and Niʻihau.

Grant funding and gift cards

Mālama Kauaʻi Executive Director Megan Fox says the damage includes homes with blown off roofs, boulders thrown through houses and rivers running through properties.

The organization has distributed $50,000 in grants so far and is sending teams door to door to find families who need assistance.

“All the funds that we’re receiving right now are going directly to grants for people who lost their homes,” Fox said. “Or some of our farms and ranches that got major damage too.”

Mālama Kauaʻi is also providing Visa gift cards of up to $2,000 per household, particularly as some banks remain closed.

The cards can help families cover immediate expenses, including temporary lodging, phone bills, food and other necessities.

The Hawaiʻi Community Foundation is also supporting organizations responding to the storm. Michelle Kauhane, the foundation’s vice president and chief operating officer, said the foundation had awarded about $287,000 in grants to roughly 11 organizations responding to Lowell on Kauai as of the latest update.

The foundation has also awarded more than $1 million to organizations responding to Tropical Cyclone Lala, Kauhane said.

Food and water distribution a priority

The Hawaiʻi Foodbank Kauai is among the organizations helping with the response, moving food and water to communities with the greatest needs.

Branch Director Wes Pereira said the island is facing uneven needs, with some areas requiring significantly more assistance than others.

“We haven’t seen that since Hurricane Iniki,” Pereira said.

The Foodbank is also working with local farmers dealing with storm damage. Some farmers were able to harvest produce before Lowell arrived, while others are now trying to rebuild.

“It’s super challenging to hear of what the farmers are going through and having to rebuild,” Pereira said.

Pereira said the Foodbank is seeking out available produce from farmers who were able to harvest before the storm.

How to help

For people looking to help, both the Foodbank and Mālama Kauaʻi say monetary donations can give relief organizations flexibility to respond to the needs on the ground.

“I know it’s not as fun to send cash, but cash is really the best way to get it into the hands of people so they can be more independent and feel like taken care of and respond to their own needs too,” Fox said.