Daughter starts GoFundMe for Pahala parents after Hurricane Lala devastates home, coffee farm

PAHALA, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) — The daughter of a Pahala couple has started a GoFundMe to help her parents after Hurricane Lala flooded their home and damaged their coffee business.

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Joann Norberte set up the fundraiser for her parents, Leo and Hermie Norberte, because they need help but would not ask for it themselves.

Floodwaters from Hurricane Lala inundated the Norberte family’s Pahala home nearly two weeks ago.

Leo Norberte, 81, broke through a window to escape. His wife, Hermie Norberte, 76, was carried to safety by firefighters.

“I was worried because my wife don’t know how to swim and the water coming fast,” Leo Norberte told Hawaii News Now the day after the hurricane.

Daughter flew in from Nevada

Community members worked to clean up mud and debris from the flooding the next day. Joann Norberte saw the devastation on Hawaii News Now from Nevada.

“It was terrifying and I wasn’t even in that situation. I couldn’t even imagine what my parents were going through,” Joann Norberte said.

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Joann Norberte flew to Hawaii Island to help her parents.

Coffee business faces losses

The Norbertes are known for their coffee farm and business, JN Coffee Farms and Big Island Coffee, which supplies stores including KTA. Even though 500 of their coffee trees were destroyed, they are still trying to fulfill orders.

“It’s devastating,” Joann Norberte said. “My parents are very stoic. They’re resilient, and you can’t really see what’s really going on because they’re just very task-oriented. They’re just like, ‘Okay, we got to get the business going again. What can we do?’”

Insurance dispute

The Norbertes say their insurance company is refusing to cover all their losses because they were told they suffered flooding, not wind or rain damage, from the hurricane.

“Because it came from below, ground level rising up, it is now flood insurance and we are not in a flood zone,” Joann Norberte said.

Norberte said her parents are determined to rebuild their home and their business. She said what gives her hope is the community that has come together to help.

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“Gosh, it’s been amazing. Definitely the Aloha spirit is unreal,” she said.