An uprooted tree rests on a home after Hurricane Lala in Volcano, Hawaii, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. The Category 1 hurricane brought heavy rain and strong winds to the island of Hawaii before moving away without making landfall.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
Road workers are seen in front of a debris flow across Hawaii Belt Road the day after Hurricane Lala near Pahala, Hawaii, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. The Category 1 hurricane brought heavy rain and strong winds to the island of Hawaii before moving away without making landfall.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
Lenea Masi stands in front of a tree that fell on her home during Hurricane Lala near Volcano, Hawaii, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. The Category 1 hurricane brought heavy rain and strong winds to the island of Hawaii before moving away without making landfall.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
Eric Hubner walks along a washed-out road near his home damaged by Hurricane Lala in Mountain View, Hawaii, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. The Category 1 hurricane brought heavy rain and strong winds to the island of Hawaii before moving away without making landfall.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
More than 100,000 people remained without power, schools were closed and 911 service was down on the Big Island on Monday morning as Hawaii assessed the damage left by Tropical Storm Lala.
In the storm’s aftermath, approximately 113,000 customers were without power — and Hawaii’s main utility provider said outages in some rural parts of the Big Island could persist for months. After 911 lines failed, Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda said Monday that those who need to reach emergency services should call the fire administration number.
At least six bridges were destroyed or damaged in the Big Island’s southern Kau District, Alameda said Sunday. More than 100 homes were also damaged in the region. The community of Pahala, which hosts the region’s community hospital, was inaccessible.
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“In the Kau area, it’s devastation,” Alameda said.
Kau Hospital spokesperson Elena Cabatu said officials had cleared a way to the town Monday morning. Doctors and other staff members have remained inside the hospital since Saturday.
“Thank goodness, because we need to deliver fuel supplies, food, medications — everything that is needed to support that hospital,” Cabatu said.
Communities across the islands began the long road to recovery on Monday as the storm passed. Shops and restaurants were destroyed and families were seeking help after the storm decimated homes.
Punalu’u Bake Shop, a beloved local bakery, was badly damaged in the storm, with its front door smashed and support columns split. The nearby Hana Hou Restaurant also sustained storm and water damage. On Maui, towering eucalyptus trees smashed on top of a decade-old lei store and gathering place.
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“The word that comes to mind is ‘heartbroken,’” Cabatu said. “It’s mind-blowing the damage that it’s caused.”
Lala was downgraded from a Category 1 hurricane on Sunday and barely missed making landfall. Still, the storm dumped from 20 to more than 40 inches of rain over the weekend on the eastern and southern stretch of the Big Island, according to weather service meteorologist Patrick Blood.
Kevin Brown, the pastor for the Naalehu Assembly of God, said he has never seen such devastating damage in the region in the nearly two decades he has lived on the Big Island.
“Yesterday was just horrific to go through the town because it was just mud everywhere,” he said. “There’s no power. There’s no water, and and I know the crews are out there doing the best that they can to try to get things up, but it’s just, we’re not sure how long that’s going to be.”
While rain was heaviest on the eastern slopes of the islands, wind was heaviest on the western slopes, as air accelerated down Hawaii’s massive mountains into populated coastal areas.
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Gusts of 50 to 75 mph were observed along the western side of the Big Island, Maui and Oahu. Winds were even stronger in the mountains, including Mauna Kea where gusts exceeded 140 mph at times.
On Oahu, the winds ripped the roof off the home of a Honolulu Fire Department Captain’s mother. The bathroom and kitchen were also destroyed, Fire Captain Kama Ortiz said on GoFundMe.
Ortiz’s mother and sister were safe but Ortiz said they were living out of bags at a cousin’s home.
“I’ve spent my career walking into other people’s worst days,” Ortiz said. “This time it’s my own family, and I’m the one asking for help.”
East to west-blowing trade winds will bring lingering light to moderate showers to Hawaii on Monday. The major impacts of Lala have subsided.
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Gov. Josh Green said all schools, along with state and county offices, would be closed Monday. The storm damaged Naalehu Elementary School, which will remain closed through Thursday.
More than 240 Hawaii National Guard members were deployed statewide Sunday afternoon, delivering food to the coastal community Naalehu, according to the governor’s office. The U.S. Coast Guard flew supplies to the Big Island to support search and rescue efforts.
Many patients were reported in hospitals and emergency departments that were operating with backup energy Sunday morning. An ambulance likely was destroyed after it flooded while responding to people trapped by rising water in Naalehu. The crew was safe.
Meteorologist Anthony Edwards contributed to this report.
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