In the aftermath of Hurricane Nolo, HPR spoke with Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda live on The Conversation to hear the latest updates of the hurricane’s impact over the weekend.
Alameda discussed Hawaiʻi Island residents’ commitment to storm preparation despite hurricane fatigue, ongoing recovery efforts and their expectations for the next two months of hurricane season.
Interview Highlights
On Hurricane Nolo’s impact
MAYOR KIMO ALAMEDA: We are still in the recovery phase for Lala. … Nolo was a big scare, you know, and it did cause some anxiety, especially out in the Kaʻū area, because we did have 6 to 10 inches of rain, and any amount of rain there because of the saturation of the ground is concerning. And so there was flooding in Nāʻālehu, in Waiʻōhinu. We were a little concerned about Pāhala. There was a lot of rain there. We had to close down Highway 11, which typically floods at Kāwā Flats. And so we had some road closures for a while, but nothing compared to what we experienced at Lala.
On emphasizing proper storm preparation
ALAMEDA: This time around, we ask residents to not wait till the flood to evacuate, but to, you know, to prepare earlier. And so, if you're in a flood-prone area, we were asking residents to either seek higher ground at a friend's house or to come to our shelters. And right off the bat, we had about 40 occupants in our shelters. We had shelters opened up at Nāʻālehu and Pāhala, and we even opened up one in Ocean View, simply because the drive from Ocean View to Nāʻālehu is a long drive, and so the residents really appreciated that. And I think we're all getting, unfortunately, we're all getting better at disaster preparedness.
On restoring Nāʻālehu Cemetery
ALAMEDA: We worked really hard at preserving that site. … We created a berm, and the floodwaters came down right above the cemetery and it went exactly where we predicted it would have gone, and so that preserved that area from any further, you know, displacement of the remains. So that was good. As we continue to work in that area alongside our anthropologists, making sure that we are continually collecting remains, preserving it, documenting, and so that's an ongoing process. … I'm very proud of our efforts in that regard, especially working with the community.
On supporting the crews responding to natural disasters
ALAMEDA: We do have what you call storm fatigue, right? Well, there's also something called aloha fatigue, you know. I mean, I've been on two hours of sleep the past two, three weeks, and so is my colleagues, right? But you know, what I found is that there is a sense of bonding. You know, every disaster, we try to look for the blessings in the unfortunate, right? And the blessing in these unfortunates is that we've become stronger as a community. My team has become like family. … Paychecks come and go, but this goodwill, this connection with the community, the memories that we are creating, that'll last forever, and so that's my role as the head coach is to keep our spirits up and keep us motivated. We don't kind of control Mother Nature, but we can control how we respond to her.
This story aired on The Conversation on Sept. 28, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
