Hurricane Lowell knocked out power to most Kauaʻi residents Monday night. Emergency management officials were expected to send up a helicopter to survey the damage from the storm.
HPR spoke with Mayor Derek Kawakami Tuesday morning to get the latest out in the field on damage to roads and areas hardest hit.
Interview Highlights
On recovery efforts
DEREK KAWAKAMI: The incident management team has broken out into their respective teams, and they're really trying to make sure that we are utilizing resources effectively. ...
Highways are being cleared out. County roads are being cleaned, and that's really the big message of today — although the Hurricane Lowell event has come and gone, the aftermath is now our No. 1 priority as far as making sure that every person is accounted for, making sure that roads and highways are cleared.
On community-led responses
KAWAKAMI: There are stories out there that are happening that are just the most heartwarming. Of course, from a government perspective, we always worry about people's safety, but the response has always been community-led and government-supported.
I mean, the residents of Kekaha took it upon themselves to start clearing out the roads because they're closest to the impact. And while our crews are trying to make their way out there, they're proactively helping their community and helping us out. And I really think that's the way government was designed to work best, when you have a community that's engaged, that's willing to meet the government halfway, and we have the ability to meet them halfway. Work gets done, and it's refreshing for me to see as mayor.
Of course, our attorneys are probably going to cringe when they hear this, because we always worry about people getting hurt and liability. But I'll tell you, when things need to happen and things need to get done, the people out here and across Hawaiʻi — I've seen it everywhere, in Kaʻū, in Waialua, every single pocket in Hawaiʻi — we have community members that are not going to wait, and they're going to make things happen.
On taking care of your mental health
KAWAKAMI: When I went through Hurricane Iniki, our house was relatively unscathed, but my wife's situation was a little different, so I knew already she was going to be a little more sensitive to this storm system. And so we've been also throughout the week informing people about the importance of taking care of their mental health.
I mean, I must have given out the Hawaiʻi CARES 988 number just as much as I've been telling people to prepare for the storm, get your hurricane kits ready, because we tend to forget that mental health is just as, if not more, important than physical health.
This story aired on The Conversation on Sept. 8, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Annabelle Ink adapted this story for the web.
