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The tempest that walloped Maui this past week had old-timers casting back to "The Storm of 1980," an epic Kona low-pressure system that hovered over the island, battering property, infrastructure and beaches with torrential rains and winds of more than 100 mph.
Two men were killed, one when his car was washed into the ocean and another whose Haiku house collapsed. Power was out in some areas for two weeks. West Maui and Kihei were cut off due to washed-out roads. Homes and businesses lost roofs. Thirty boats sunk. Damages were listed at $16 million, which was a fair chunk of change 41 years ago.
Having our vulnerabilities laid so bare provided valuable lessons in what can go wrong when the rain, wind and waves start and will not stop. Hurricane Iwa in 1982, Hurricane Iniki in 1992, Tropical Depression Flossie in 2013 and Hurricane Lane in 2018 were storms that offered refresher courses. Even if Maui was spared the brunt of destroyers like Iwa and Iniki, just a few degrees turn at the wrong time could have spun them over us instead of Kauai.
The multibillion-dollar question is, with all of these lessons, have we learned anything? Some of the areas badly damaged in 1980 had strikingly similar issues this week. It is fair to say that county and state officials have finally begun to take the threats of climate change and sea level rise more seriously. Certainly more seriously than the long-ago planners, engineers and developers who allowed hotels to be built on sand shorelines and put housing developments in flood zones.
If only our state and county officials could go back in time to head off the problems we now face. South Kihei Road would not be at sea level and it would not be an essential artery. Honoapiilani Highway would be on higher ground where it passes through Ukumehame, Olowalu and Launiupoko. Oceanfront condos in Kahana, Napili and Honokowai would not be in danger of falling into the sea.
The list goes on and on. Mistakes were made. We must either endure them, fix them or watch nature wash them away. It's an expensive game of catch-up that will only pick up speed as sea levels rise and storms intensify.
Yes, Haleakala, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea have protected us. Each year, however, as the ocean warms, storms track farther north. Warmer seas cause hurricanes to be bigger, wetter and slower. They also cause locally higher sea levels and fuel king tides.
The undermined roads, exposed pipes, lost power and empty taps left in the wake of this most recent Kona storm are reminders not only for officials, but for all of us. You can bet that the out-of-power folks in Kula who had stored extra water, canned food, batteries and candles were glad to be prepared.
* Editorials reflect the opinion of the publisher.