40,000 lost power during storm Monday night, about 800 still in the dark
UPDATED 4 p.m.
An estimated 40,000 Hawaiian Electric customers experienced power outages during the Kona low storm Monday night, with about 800 still without power.
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A Hawaiian Electric news release Tuesday afternoon stated that the company is still doing damage assessments across the island, but at least two transmission lines along the Hamakua Coast need to be repaired. New outages are occurring as flooding or fallen trees cut off power lines.
Currently, about 400 customers on Waipio Valley Road between Honokaa Town and the valley are without power, with restoration expected to be complete by Friday. Another 300 customers around Ahualoa are expected to have power restored by Thursday, and about 100 isolated customers around Hawaiian Ocean View Estates should have their power restored by late Wednesday or early Thursday.
Repairs will begin once fallen trees are cleared and crews can safely access the area, according to the Hawaiian Electric statement.
On Maui, up to 12,000 customers lost power during the storm, but most of them have already been restored.
Original story:
Residents affected by Monday’s “Kona low” storm system are encouraged to participate in a Hawaii County Civil Defense damage assessment survey to help determine the extent of storm-related damage on Hawaii Island.
Data collected from the survey will be used to determine whether the county qualifies for any state or federal assistance and will help plan for future storms.
However, participating in the survey is not an application for individual assistance, and residents seeking aid will still need to file claims through their insurance companies.
Several county facilities remain closed after the storm, including Punalu‘u and Mahukona beach parks, the Honoka‘a Pool and the bathrooms at the Waipi‘o Valley lookout.
The Waimea and Kona shelters that opened Monday have since been closed.
The survey can be found at arcg.is/1b8CS1.
For more information about the survey, residents can contact Civil Defense at (808) 935-0031 or (808) 935-0032.
