Two kona low storms dumped up to 50 inches of rain on Oahu, flooding fields and submerging equipment, leaving Hawaii's small farmers facing catastrophic losses. The first storm hit on the week of 10 March, followed by a second, more perilous storm days later that inundated neighborhoods, led to more than 200 rescues, and washed houses off their foundations.
Eddie Oroyan and his wife, Jessica Eirado Enes, had started LewaTerra Farm last year on the north shore of Oahu. After the first storm wiped out nearly all their papayas and tomatoes, they quickly began cleaning and replanting. But the second storm forced them to evacuate in chest-deep water, and they returned to find an almost complete loss of crops, with disease already setting in.
Officials estimate damage costs at $1 billion across the state, with farmers hit particularly hard. More than 300 farms have reported about $17.5 million in damage, according to Brian Miyamoto, executive director of the Hawai‘i Farm Bureau. “This is so widespread that the need is astronomical,” he said.
Farmers like Haley McKinnon of Ahiki Acres and Blake Briddell of a north shore farm prepared by elevating equipment and securing crops, but the storms came sooner than expected. Briddell and his partner Brit Yim had to evacuate as water rose around their living space. Cleanup is slow due to significant debris, damaged roads, and thick mud from the dense clay soil, which doesn't soak up water well.
Despite the devastation, farmers are replanting. Oroyan and Enes spent days cleaning and replanting eggplant and okra. Another kona storm was forecast but expected to be less severe. “It’s silly looking back, but we were talking about how it might be nice to get a little bit of rain to wash the mud off of everything,” Briddell said.
