Tropical Storm Lala tore across Hawaii over the weekend, destroying more than 100 homes, knocking out power to over 100,000 customers, and trapping thousands of residents behind collapsed roads, and the cleanup is just beginning.
Governor Josh Green announced Sunday that more than 100 homes were "damaged and lost" on the Big Island alone after Lala briefly strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane Saturday and raked the island chain with torrential rain and hurricane-force wind gusts. At least one person was found dead, though officials have not confirmed whether the death was storm-related. A second fatality, a car accident Saturday, was ruled unrelated to the hurricane by Hawaii Fire Department temporary Chief Daniel Volpe, who told reporters it "happened before major impacts."
By early Monday, the storm's last rain bands had cleared Kauai and Lala was moving away from the islands. But the damage left behind is staggering: six bridges destroyed or nearly destroyed in the Big Island's Kaʻū district, a major highway collapsed, and tens of thousands of homes still dark. Gov. Green shut down all state and county offices, schools, courts, and judiciary offices for Monday.
The National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center reported that the Big Island's mountains received more than three and a half feet of rain, roughly 42 inches. Maui's mountainous areas took up to two feet. That volume of water overwhelmed drainage systems and turned streams into destructive channels.
In the small community of Pāhala, floodwaters from Pa'au'au Stream breached a rock wall overnight Saturday and surged onto Pāhala Highway, collapsing sections of the road. Lifelong resident Deborah Funai Brown told CNN affiliate KHNL/KGMB that the collapse left up to 2,500 people cut off from the rest of the island.
Brown described the situation as catastrophic. Her words carried the weight of isolation familiar to rural Hawaii residents, far from Honolulu's resources and attention:
"We've always been stuck in the middle of nowhere so you kind of feel forgotten about when you're out here, like you're on an island by yourself."
That sentiment, small communities bearing the worst of a natural disaster while state resources stretch thin, is one Hawaii officials will have to answer for in the weeks ahead. The destruction Lala left behind will test whether the state's emergency response can reach the people who need it most.
Green said a "river of water" went through the Naalehu area, washing away "quite a lot." Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda used the word "devastation" to describe what happened to bridges in the Kaʻū district and said his county faced a record number of road closures.
Alameda urged people to stay home:
"While road crews are working hard to clear debris as conditions allow, we need all residents and visitors to heed all warnings, move into safe shelter, and stay off the roadways."
Temporary Fire Chief Volpe described two homes in the Kaʻū area pushed off their foundations. One was carried "a few hundred yards away" by floodwaters. A second was "shoved" partly off its base, though Volpe cautioned that "the information is based on eyewitness accounts and authorities are still determining what happened."
A woman caught in the flooding was hospitalized with what Volpe called "moderate injuries." Separately, an ambulance crew responding to an emergency became stranded by floodwaters and had to be rescued by a National Guard high-water vehicle.
The Associated Press reported that approximately 100 homes were swept off their foundations on the Big Island, and that search-and-rescue missions were launched in coastal communities near the island's southern tip after flash floods hit. No deaths had been directly confirmed as storm-related.
The scope of the storm's reach extended well beyond the Big Island. On Oahu, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi reported roughly 160 ocean rescues between Friday and Saturday evening. Emergency medical crews treated three people who fell off or through their roofs. Blangiardi's office counted "more than 30 blown roofs" on Oahu by Saturday night.
The rare hurricane warning issued for the Big Island before Lala's arrival reflected how seriously forecasters took the threat. The island had not experienced a direct hurricane landfall in more than a century, Just The News noted when Lala was upgraded to Category 1.
More than 100,000 customers across the Hawaiian islands remained without power early Monday, according to PowerOutage.com. Hawaiian Electric said main transmission lines need repair on the Big Island, Maui, and Oahu, a job that won't be quick.
Mayor Alameda warned in a Facebook post Sunday that power restoration in some areas could take "days or longer," with major transmission infrastructure down. For residents already cut off by collapsed roads and washed-out bridges, that timeline means extended hardship without electricity, running water, or reliable communication.
Breitbart reported that more than 130,000 households lost power across Hawaii's three largest islands and that at least 19 roofs were lost during the storm. The outlet also noted that Lala could regain hurricane strength midweek as it moves west of the island chain.
The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency issued a statewide brown water advisory, warning that contaminated stormwater could reach coastal waters and streams. The agency also urged residents to exercise caution around "deadly hazards" still present, including flooded areas and downed power lines.
Randy Collins, Honolulu's director of emergency management, made a point that often gets lost in the relief of a storm passing:
"Many casualties happen after the disaster... As people are cleaning things up, they're working with heavy equipment, chain saws, generators, they're working around downed power lines and so forth. That's when the casualties come. I just want to encourage everyone as they are cleaning up to ensure that you are doing so in a safe manner."
Lala made its closest approach to the Big Island at roughly 5 p.m. local time Saturday, its eyewall brushing the island's southern coast from about 30 miles away. The storm had strengthened to Category 1 earlier that day, an unusual feat for a system approaching Hawaii, where cooler Pacific waters typically weaken incoming storms.
This time, an ongoing marine heat wave stretching to California and a developing Super El Niño kept ocean temperatures elevated, giving Lala warmer water to feed on longer than normal. That combination is exactly the kind of El Niño-driven tropical threat forecasters had been warning about for months.
The New York Post reported that flash floods swept several occupied homes off their foundations in the coastal communities of Naalehu and Waiohinu, triggering search-and-rescue operations. Zachary Kennedy, who manages a bake shop in the area, told the AP the damage was "literally catastrophic."
The storm system that became Lala was tracked early as it developed in the Eastern Pacific. From its first identification through its arrival at Hawaii's doorstep, the system followed a path forecasters had flagged, and the islands still weren't spared.
As of Monday, critical questions remained unanswered. Have evacuation routes been established for the estimated 2,500 residents trapped behind the Pāhala Highway collapse? When will the six destroyed or heavily damaged bridges in Kaʻū be replaced? What is the precise timeline for restoring power to communities that may wait "days or longer"?
Gov. Green declared a state of emergency before the storm hit. The National Guard deployed. Road crews mobilized. Those are the right steps. But for a resident like Deborah Funai Brown, who already felt forgotten before Lala arrived, the test isn't whether the state issued the right press releases. It's whether help actually reaches her road.
Natural disasters don't play favorites, but their aftermath always reveals who the system serves first, and who it leaves waiting.
