As Tropical Storm Lala moved westward from Hawaii, residents faced the aftermath of its heavy rains over the weekend. The small community of Waiohinu on Hawaii’s Big Island suffered a devastating mudslide that destroyed about a dozen homes.
Resident Alice Birnbaum shared her experience, saying, “The boulders that were coming down were so heavy they were like shaking the ground.” She noted that the CBS News crew was the first she had seen from outside the community since the storm.
Birnbaum emphasized the community’s urgent needs: water, propane, gas, and food. Despite hurricanes being rare, with the last direct hit being Iniki in 1992, Hurricane Lala’s eye was a mere 30 miles off the coast, bringing powerful gusts over 80 mph and heavy rain. Some areas experienced over 3 feet of rainfall, with Kapalua in Maui County measuring 48 inches.
By Monday, over 100,000 customers were still without power, as reported by poweroutage.us. Destruction included washed-away bridges on the Big Island, leaving communities isolated. In Waiohinu, residents supported each other, with one family narrowly escaping their home before it was swept away.
Hawaii state and county offices, including education and judiciary facilities, were closed on Monday. While Lala had weakened to a tropical storm, predictions indicated it might regain hurricane strength over open Pacific waters by late Tuesday. The National Hurricane Center reported maximum sustained winds of 65 mph as of Monday night.