Work continues to clear roads, restore power, dig out seaside property from under swathes of sand and lava rocks, and assess catastrophic damage to private property after Hurricane Lowell threw devastating winds, torrential rains, and surging floodwaters across Hawaii’s Kauai and Oahu Islands on Labor Day 2026.
Lowell passed west of Niihau and Kauai from Sept. 7 through Sept. 8. Although its eye remained offshore, its reach stretched over much of the main islands, triggering tropical storm warnings for Oahu and hurricane warnings for the two furthest west islands.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green announced on Sept. 8 that state, city, and county of Honolulu offices would reopen on Sept. 9, as well as public schools, University of Hawaii campuses, and judiciary facilities on Oahu.
However, Kauai has been left reeling from the extreme weather.
“It did do a lot of damage,” Green said in a statement on Sept. 8.
“We’re getting people health care when they’ve been injured. We’re going to care for people in the very best ways we can as we build our infrastructure back. A lot of houses were badly damaged. You can see that the storm surge caused incredible damage on Kauai.”
The governor said he had heard from the federal government about providing assistance, and he was confident that it would be as helpful as it has been with recovery from previous storms.
He said he was working with all of the mayors across the archipelago to support one another and help keep people safe.
This storm triggered Hawaii’s first tornado warning, with the National Hurricane Center stating that several could spawn from Lowell’s bands across Niihau and Kauai.
As much as four feet of storm surge was projected to hit Kauai’s south shore; that estimate was paired with life-threatening high surf warnings, and footage shared across the internet showed that combination laying siege to the island’s boundaries overnight.
That powerful ocean force rushed the south shore, tearing up roads, inundating resorts with sand and seawater, and lifting entire homes off their foundations.
Initial rainfall estimates from the National Weather Center office in Honolulu show that parts of Kauai received more than a foot of rain, with Kilohana recording more than 20 inches.
Initial wind gusts were reported at 84 miles per hour at Kauai’s Lihue Airport, more than 50 miles per hour further east in Honolulu.
The governor said Kauai had between 12 inches and 17 inches of rain, with floods in multiple parts of the state.
On the morning of Sept. 8, Kauai Island Utility Cooperative reported that 90 percent of its more than 36,000 customers were out of power.
Several roads across Kauai and Oahu were shuttered, but most reopened to some capacity by Sept. 9.
However, parts of the Kuhio Highway and the mauka Wailua River Bridge will remain closed, with updates coming on Sept. 11 and Sept. 12, respectively.
Operations at Kauai’s Lihue International Airport resumed by 2:30 p.m. local time on Sept. 8. However, Honolulu Harbor, Kaumalapau on Lanai, and Port Allen stayed closed through Sept. 8.
More than 300 people in Kauai were in shelters, and food distribution sites were beginning to open across the island.
High surf warnings and flash flood watches and warnings remained until after midnight on Sept. 8.
“Everybody, you did a great job staying safe,” the governor said. “The roads are getting repaired quickly, but there is a lot of damage on Kauai, and it’s going to take quite some time to get back.
“So schools will certainly be closed today, but we’re anticipating some prolonged closures of schools on Kauai.”
Loss of life, if any, remains unknown as of 3:30 p.m. ET on Sept. 9.
Hurricane Lowell was the second storm to deal significant damage to Hawaii this hurricane season.
It came after Hurricane Lala, which hit from the east and dealt significant damage to the Big Island and parts of Maui in August.
