Social media certainly haven’t covered themselves in glory in recent years. Every other day, it seems, there’s some story about Facebook, Twitter or Instagram purging a huge pile of bogus accounts that have been enlisted in a disinformation scheme.

But now that Hawaii seems to be through the worst of a storm, we can see how useful they can be, as well. If you see something, share it.

And it’s also a good time to receive alerts. Example: State officials post when key roads reopen: twitter.com/DOTHawaii and facebook.com/HawaiiDepartmentOfTransportation.

Let the recovery begin.

Storm makes for a busy September

In addition to many other things, Hurricane Lane disrupted the back-to-school routine for just about every student in the islands. Less than a week after the 2018-19 year got underway at University of Hawaii campuses, all 10 were shuttered. At the K-12 level, public and private schools were closed on Thursday and Friday.

Students now headed back to the classroom can expect a busy September as rescheduling will soon be underway for a long list of “rain-checked” events, everything from football games to SAT exams.