Kauai residents stock up, prepare as Hurricane Lowell nears
LĪHUʻE, Kaua’i (HawaiiNewsNow) — Some stores across Kaua’i have run out of emergency supplies as residents quickly move to prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Lowell.
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Major Hurricane Lowell is currently making a sharp turn toward the north. The forecast track is expected to take the storm just west of Kaua’i and Ni’ihau, which are both under a Hurricane Watch and a Tropical Storm Warning.
Residents stock up
While conditions in Kalapaki on the southeastern side of the island currently remain calm with overcast skies and slightly choppy waves, families are actively securing their homes and boarding up windows.
At the Garden Island’s only Home Depot in Līhuʻe, the manager reported that customers packed the store on Wednesday and Thursday, completely buying out generators, tarps, and other emergency gear.
“Pretty much a madhouse, customers panicking, by the thousands,” said Albert Johnson, who was shopping at the Home Depot. “We’re getting hundreds of calls every day for generators, plywood, tarps, wondering if everything’s available. But yeah, it’s calmed down a lot now.”
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Next door at Costco, shoppers expressed a similar urgency to get ready before the storm hits.
“Make sure we get the water going, batteries. Just be prepared, get ready, be hunkered down, tie up everything,” said resident Randy McCabe.
Lessons from Hurricane Iniki
For some residents, the concern to prepare is driven by personal experience with previous natural disasters.
“It was a mad rush to all the big stores making sure you have all your supplies,” said Nouveau Naumu, who was 10 years old when Hurricane Iniki devastated the island in 1992.
Remembering the intensity of the storm, Naumu said he knew he could not take Lowell lightly.
“I just remember the high winds, us kind of huddling in the bathroom and things were just hitting the house, all the debris, and then waking up the next morning you could see the devastation,” Naumu said. “So yes, I’ve been through it before. It’s something that you’ve got to be prepared for, and you can’t take it lightly.”
During a press conference on Sunday, Kaua’i Mayor Derek Kawakami commended residents for their proactive preparation efforts.
“For those of us that have been through Hurricane Iniki, this feels familiar, and for the folks that have been through it, we know how to get through it, and it’s by working together,” Kawakami said.
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