A home on Kauai, washed away by historic flooding. Photo: GoFundMe
In mid-April, the islands of Kauai and Oahu were devastated by torrential rains. The flooding was unprecedented, even for places that often sees huge amounts of rain. On Kauai, roads, houses, and bridges were swept away. Hundreds of people had to be airlifted to safety, bison ran amok after they escaped from a ranch, and emergency crews were overwhelmed by dozens of landslides that pulled trees from the ground. The Coast Guard and fire department worked day and night, and the mayor of Kauai signed a proclamation of emergency. The people of Hawaii, though, came together. Neighbors are helping neighbors. Strangers are helping strangers.
Donations are flooding in and hundreds of volunteers are digging through the mud to help anyone who needs it. “We had almost 100 people here coming to help, and I don’t recognize half of them,” she said. “But they’re here doing what they can to help us,” Heidi Low, the president of the Hanalei Canoe Club. The club lost 9 of their 13 canoes, along with a variety of other things.
Mudslides buried roads and trees are down all over the island. Photo: GoFundMe
“We have 13 canoes; 9 of them are gone. So those will have to be replaced,” said Heidi Low to Hawaii News Now. “Everything in the hale, none of that is insured, so our showers, our sinks, our fridges, our printer… All these random things we’re still recognizing that we lost.”
Dozens of crowdfunding campaigns have been set up, and GoFundMe has collected them all into one page, which can be found HERE. They’re all verified campaigns supporting those affected by the floods, and any money you donate is guaranteed to get to the right place. One of the more successful campaigns is the Hanalei-Haena Flooding Fund, which is run by Koral McCarthy, Gabby Reece, and Hannah Skvarla. With a goal of $1 million, it’s raised over $200,000.
Although the community is coming together in a way that is representative of the Hawaiian culture in general, everything helps. So, like one fundraiser wrote, “skip Starbucks today” and join the effort.
