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Hurricane Lowell leaves trail of destruction across Kauai
NBC News • • general
Key Points:
- Hurricane Lowell struck Hawaii’s western islands as a Category 2 storm, causing significant damage on Kauai’s south shore, including lifting a home off its foundation and destroying a hotel’s oceanfront restaurant.
- Kauai experienced widespread flooding with preliminary rainfall totals up to 21 inches, and around 80% of homes and businesses remain without power, affecting over 30,000 customers.
- The storm prompted Hawaii’s first-ever tornado watch and caused at least one death on Oahu, although the cause has not been confirmed as storm-related.
- Lowell has weakened to a tropical storm but residual moisture may bring further rain, potentially delaying recovery efforts across the islands.
- The increased Pacific storm activity, including Lowell, is attributed to a strong El Niño event, which NOAA predicts has a 69% chance of becoming the strongest on record.
