Monday 11 August 2014

Hurricane Iselle's aftermath

Hawaii, especially the district of Puna on the Big Island, rarely makes the news, even on the local TV stations in the State. It's a neglected district with many quite poor people living here. Some areas are very beautiful and have many vacation rentals for visitors, some are ravaged by lava flows, but overall it is a large area (roughly the size of Oahu) with thousands of relatively poor families.

Hurricane Iselle devastated much of the district last Thursday night. Thousands of people are without power or running water, some are still trapped on their streets by downed trees. Houses have been damaged or even completely destroyed. Power for many residents won't be back for several weeks despite the heroic efforts of hundreds of local workers and residents, including the National Guard.

I was lucky, I only lost power and water for two days and have only had a relatively small amount of damage to deal with. The further south and east you go into Puna from my place though, the worse things get.

If you are able to donate a little money to help people and families suffering dreadfully after the storm, you can do so via this link:

  http://www.hiunitedway.org/iselle/

And now a video posted by a good friend's nephew: