Kauai Urges Tourists to Delay Visits as Hurricane Lowell Recovery Continues

Tourism officials in Hawaii are encouraging visitors to postpone travel to Kauai while the island recovers from Hurricane Lowell, the latest tropical storm to hit the state.

Hurricane Lowell brought intense winds and surging waves to Kauai earlier this week, damaging oceanfront resorts, tearing up roads and cutting power. The island is known for its tropical landscapes, waterfalls and dramatic cliffs.

As of late Thursday, thousands of customers, including some resorts, were still without electricity. Crews continued clearing streets of fallen trees and utility poles, and long lines formed at Kauai's main airport as people tried to leave.

"Our hope is that visitors will adjust their travel plans instead of canceling their trip to Hawai'i altogether," said Caroline Anderson, interim president and CEO of the Hawai'i Tourism Authority. "Adjusting your itinerary allows you to continue your Hawai'i vacation while supporting the state's broader visitor economy as Kaua'i recovers."

Kauai receives only a small share of Hawaii's nearly 10 million annual visitors, but tourism is its leading economic driver. Local estimates suggest tourism accounts for four out of every ten jobs on the island.

The storm's surge buckled and washed away roads, knocked down the walls of homes and flooded resorts, sending rapids through a hotel lobby, overturning furniture and scattering debris. Two deaths have been blamed on the storm: a 74-year-old man found Wednesday near Kauai's south shore and a man found dead Monday on Oahu after a large tree fell on his tent.

Democratic Governor Josh Green asked President Donald Trump on Wednesday to issue a major disaster declaration to speed federal assistance for Kauai and Maui counties.

At the Ko'a Kea Resort in Poipu, management said it would offer refunds to guests who had to cancel rather than reschedule, and expected to resume normal operations within two weeks. The Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort, which sustained no structural damage, closed beginning Thursday evening and hoped to reopen once power is restored.

While images of destruction spread on social media, Chris White, a 68-year-old lifelong Kauai resident who owns a rental home in Poipu, said much of the island escaped significant damage. He keeps a spare generator and solar water heater at the property for outages and urged potential visitors to check with property owners about whether to come.

"There are countless images on the web of devastation, so I'm not trying to gloss that over," White said. "I'm just trying to add a little more balance to it. It's a beautiful day here. Guests can still walk to Poipu Beach. There are bathrooms that work. The water's running."

Kelly Kakalia, co-owner of The Musubi Truck, a Kauai food truck business, said she is not overly worried about the interruption to tourism.

"I would be silly to say tourism doesn't drive our economy," she said, but "our island needs time to rest and rebuild and make sure locals have power and water" before welcoming back tourists.

On Wednesday, Musubi's staff used its commercial kitchen in Wailua, on Kauai's east side, to serve nearly 600 free meals. Relying on propane to cook and generators to keep food cold, they prepared poke bowls, chicken, ahi katsu and rice. A neighboring cafe owner plugged a blender into her pickup truck to make free smoothies, and a nearby brewery brought warm beer for the volunteers.

"We were serving from 10:30 to 4 and there was a line the entire time," Kakalia said.

Born and raised on Kauai, the 36-year-old said she did not want to sell food during a time of need. The community is filled with classmates, cousins and others she has known all her life, she said.

After the kitchen got power back, Kakalia donated the generators to other families still without electricity.

As for losing any business, she said, "that's just part of it."

"The community and island are more important," Kakalia said.