POIPU, Hawaii — On Kauai’s south shore, Hurricane Lowell lifted a home off its foundation and split it in two, the storm’s powerful winds thrusting part of the structure across the street.
\n\nAt a nearby Sheraton hotel, the hurricane carried several cars across the parking lot and destroyed the hotel’s oceanfront restaurant. Its pool sits full of sand.
\n\nThese are just two of the many scenes of destruction the hurricane has left in Hawaii after lashing the state’s western islands with heavy rain, widespread flooding and tropical-storm-force winds on Monday and Tuesday.
\n\nNow the extensive recovery efforts begin.
\n\nLowell passed just west of the islands of Niihau and Kauai on Monday as a Category 2 hurricane, prompting the National Weather Service to issue the state’s first-ever tornado watch.
\n\nFlash flooding was widespread across Kauai, where the NWS recorded preliminary rainfall totals of up to 21 inches.
\n\nIn a video update Wednesday, Kauai County Mayor Derek Kawakami said crews had been dispatched islandwide to assess the aftermath of the storm.
\n\n“Plan to be without power for a while,” county officials wrote Wednesday on Facebook. “Some areas should expect several days or longer.”
\n\nAround 80% of homes and businesses remain without power…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/