Hurricane Lowell passed west of Kauai overnight on September 7 and 8, 2026, and knocked out power to about 33,000 of the island's 36,000 electric accounts. A week later, more than 80% of the island has power back, every airline is flying its normal schedule into Lihue, and Kauai Shores Hotel is open and taking reservations. Nobody here expected to be able to write that sentence this soon. Here's how the week went from our end of the beach.
Kauai Shores Hotel is on Wailua Bay on the east side of Kauai, 18 miles from Poipu. The surge that went through the South Shore and the wind that took down the North Shore's transmission lines didn't reach Kapaa the same way. We lost power like everyone else. We got it back within days, and the building came through with no damage. Our neighbors on the North Shore, the Westside, and in Poipu had it far worse, and most of what follows is about them and the people who went to help.
Lydgate, Friday morning
Lydgate Park is a 10-minute walk down the beach from our lawn, and if you've read our snorkeling post you know Morgan's Ponds: the two rock-walled lagoons that keep the surf out so kids can swim. The Wailua River came over its banks during the storm and filled them with ironwood trees, driftwood, and wreckage.
On Friday, September 12, more than 100 people showed up to dig them out. Keiki to kupuna, according to the Friends of Kamalani and Lydgate Park, who organized it. County parks crews ran excavators on the fallen ironwoods near the treatment plant while volunteers hauled debris out of the ponds by hand. Chris West of the Friends said the extra hands were needed so people could use the ponds again.
600 meals from a food truck kitchen
Two days after the storm, with most of the island still dark, the Musubi Truck opened its commercial kitchen in Wailua and cooked. Propane for the burners, generators for the walk-in. By the end of the day nearly 600 free meals had gone out, poke bowls and chicken and ahi katsu over rice. A cafe owner next door plugged a blender into her pickup and made smoothies. A brewery down the road brought warm beer for the volunteers.
The same thing happened at both ends of the island. In Hanalei, Big Nick's had no electricity and a freezer full of food that wasn't going to last, so the owner made chili, taro, and chicken curry and gave it away. In Poipu, the Beach House staff cleaned out their perishables and fed anyone who came to the door, including hotel guests with nowhere else to eat.
The football team
Kapaa High has been out of session since the storm. On Friday, September 11, the Warriors football team spent the day they would have played Kauai High handing out close to 500 meals at a Foodbank distribution in Lihue, alongside the National Guard and the Waimea softball and Kauai High flag football teams. Head coach Ryan McKeague called it team bonding. One of the moms said football goes beyond the field.
The crews
Kauai Island Utility Cooperative had about 33,000 accounts in the dark on Tuesday morning. By Sunday, 250 people were in the field: KIUC's own crews and contractors, Hawaiian Electric crews from Oahu and Hawaii Island, HMS Construction, and Southern California Edison, whose 6 trucks arrived on an Air Force C-17 out of Hickam. Some of those crews had just finished Hawaii Island after Hurricane Lala and were sent here next. As of September 14, 13 of 16 transmission lines are back.
Power was the bottleneck, and once it came back everything else followed fast. Kapaa and Wailua were back within days. Most hotels and rentals between Kapaa and Lihue are open now or opening this weekend, and Koa Kea in Poipu, one of the hardest-hit hotels on the South Shore, welcomes guests again from Wednesday, September 16. The North Shore is the last stretch: Hanalei is still dark and the road in is residents-only while the last two transmission poles are rebuilt. Hanalei town should open soon. The road beyond it will take longer.
34 years, almost to the day
Hurricane Iniki hit Kauai on September 11, 1992. Lowell came through 3 days short of the anniversary. Mayor Derek Kawakami marked the date this way:
"Thirty-four years ago today, Iniki changed our island. Many of us remember the hard days that followed, and we also remember who showed up. Neighbors cleared each other's yards, families shared what they had, and help came from Oahu, Maui, Hawaii Island and beyond. That is how Kauai rebuilt. Lowell has tested us again, and once again we are not doing this alone."
What to expect if you come
Kauai took a punch and got back up. It's ready for visitors, with one caveat: not every part of the island is at the same stage, and the parks aren't open yet. The Hawaii Tourism Authority updated its guidance on September 15 to say the same thing: confirm conditions with your hotel, expect some closures, travel with patience, and spend money at the restaurants and shops that are open, because that "can make a meaningful difference for the families and businesses navigating this recovery period." Welcoming visitors back is part of how the island recovers. It's how people here get back to work.
Here's the picture for a Kapaa trip right now:
- Open: Kauai Shores Hotel. Lava Lava Beach Club, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Lihue Airport, with every airline on its normal schedule. Kuhio Highway through Kapaa and Wailua. The bike path. Kapaa town and most east-side restaurants and shops, some on shorter hours.
- Not yet: every state park and forest reserve, every county park and beach park, and the Kapaa pool. That includes Lydgate, Wailua River State Park, Kokee, Waimea Canyon, and Haena. Individual parks will reopen as they're cleared. No dates yet.
- Uncertain: activities. Many operators are in areas that took the storm, so confirm any tour, kayak, or boat trip directly before you count on it. Ask our front desk; we're keeping a running list.
- Advisories: islandwide brown water advisory, so stay out of the ocean near stream mouths and harbors. Water conservation notice. Treat every dark traffic light as a four-way stop.
- Please skip for now: the North Shore past Princeville and the Westside. Those roads belong to the crews this week.
If you want to help from where you are
The county says money is the most useful thing right now, because it can go to whatever is short that day. These are the organizations the county and the state list:
- Hawaii Foodbank Kauai, which is running the distributions above
- Kauai United Way
- Hawaii Community Foundation, Stronger Hawaii Fund for Disaster Relief
- American Red Cross of Hawaii
- Malama Kauai, for farms and food systems
All of them are linked from kauairecovers.org, the county's recovery site. If you're on-island and want to volunteer, that site has the intake forms.
Come see us
The east side is quiet right now. The bike path is clear, Kapaa town is open, and the sun has come up over Wailua Bay every morning like it always does. If you've been thinking about a slower trip, this is the month for it.
We'll update this post as parks reopen and the North Shore gets its lights back. Thank you to everyone who came, cooked, dug, climbed a pole, or wrote a check this week. And thank you for coming back.
Mahalo nui loa. Check dates at Kauai Shores Hotel, or call 800.222.5642 first if you'd like to talk it through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Kauai Shores Hotel open after Hurricane Lowell?
Yes. Kauai Shores Hotel is open and accepting guests with existing reservations as well as new bookings. Lava Lava Beach Club is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We're in Kapaa on the east side, which was not in the surge zone. We are not Kuhio Shores, the Poipu condominium in the news for storm damage. Different property, different side of the island.
Should I cancel my Kauai trip?
No. As of September 15, the Hawaii Tourism Authority is asking visitors to confirm conditions with their hotel, expect some closures, and travel with patience, and the island's east side is open. If you'd rather wait for the parks to reopen, call us at 808.822.4951 and we'll help you pick new dates.
Is Lihue Airport open?
Yes. It's back on commercial power, and all airlines are flying their normal schedules into Kauai. Arrive 90 minutes early for interisland flights and 2 hours early for flights to the mainland.
What can I actually do on the east side right now?
Ride the bike path, walk the beach in front of the hotel, eat and shop in Kapaa town, and drive to Lihue. The parks, river tours, Sleeping Giant, and Wailua Falls lookout are closed until further notice, and we'd ask you to skip the North Shore and Westside for now. It's a slower trip than usual. Some people like it that way.
Are the beaches open?
Beaches aren't closed, but every beach park is, and there's an islandwide brown water advisory. Stay out of the water near stream mouths, drainage outlets, and harbors. Wailua Bay has a river mouth at its south end; ask the front desk about conditions on the day.
How can I help if I'm not on Kauai?
Donate to one of the organizations listed above through kauairecovers.org. If you have a trip booked, keep it. That's what the state is asking, and it's what keeps people here employed.
Last updated 9/15/2026
