A majority of businesses on Oʻahu’s North Shore report losing at least half of their expected revenue because of the recent flooding.
That's according to data being collected by the North Shore Chamber of Commerce, which is surveying area businesses.
Out of 41 responses so far, about 63% said they’ve lost 50% or more of the revenue they would have made; 44% said they lost more than 75%.
Most businesses were impacted financially in some way. Less than 10% said they weren’t impacted at all by the recent weather.
The area, along with many other parts of the state, have been hit with waves of heavy rain for most of the last month.
Many said they’d welcome financial assistance to help recoup their losses. But they also want the public to know that they’re open for business — and that the return of customers will be a big part of their recovery.
“We just need to recover from this and hopefully we can recover stronger than ever, because it brought our community together like never before,” said Carol Philips, the vice president of the North Shore Chamber of Commerce. “We’re hoping the visitors are gonna come back and that we’re not known as a disaster zone. … We need to get out there that the North Shore is open for business — or just open.”
The Chamber of Commerce is holding a flood recovery meeting for area businesses next Wednesday at Haleiwa Joe’s.
Businesses can still report flood impacts online at the chamber’s website.
