Six-day Waikiki condo outage prompts storm warnings for other high-rises

News admin August 22, 2026 0 Comments

Six-day Waikiki condo outage prompts storm warnings for other high-rises

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hundreds of residents of the Four Paddle Condos on Kuhio Avenue went six days without electricity and running water after Tropical Storm Lala. They finally got power back Friday afternoon.

“I really feel for especially the people who just can’t make it up and down the stairs,” said 20th floor resident Pam Cohen, who has been staying at a hotel but returning everyday to feed her cats.

She says it’s been a nightmare for residents.

“While I’m here, I try not to have to use the bathroom. I have to bring up all my water and whatever food that I need to eat,” Cohen said.

Management for the 25-story building says rainwater from Lala short circuited the main control panel that delivers power to the entire building, leaving hundreds of residents in the dark.

The building had just hired a new property manager with Guardian Management, Stephanie Shinno, who scrambled to make emergency repairs with the help of an electrical contractor.

Residents received notices about the issue on Wednesday, but some feel there was not enough communication. Management says they’re working as fast as they can, considering the circumstances.

“It is very difficult when power is out and we can’t really communicate in digital format, especially with her systems being down. So we’re working on getting her systems up to date so that she can have them mobile no matter what,” said Summer Richardson with Guardian Management.

Electrician Thomas Hall with Submeter Hawaii says the incident is a reminder for all property managers to check and seal potential leaks near power sources.

Before the next hurricane, managers should review contingency plans and communicate them clearly with residents.

“Any building at this point, especially with the weather that’s always changing with us, and there’s another storm coming, so make sure your building gets prepared,” he said. “Look for those opportunities to seal any openings where water may have an intrusion, and you may have a water intrusion, and an opening that’s going to create havoc or a catastrophic failure.”