We were very lucky. Hurricane Olivia struck the state as a tropical storm (winds under 39 mph). Even so, there was quite a bit of damage on Maui.

Hawaii island and Kauai suffered extensive damage this year from earlier storms, but none of them were of hurricane strength. Even so, the heavy rains caused massive flooding in some areas. Oahu has been really fortunate that none of the storms hit the island directly.

Sadly, it is only a matter of time before our luck runs out. It is not a matter of if but when. Many in Hawaii do not realize the destruction a hurricane can cause. Look at the devastation in the Carolinas with Hurricane Florence, “only” a Category 1 when it struck.

In the past week, there were a total of seven disturbances around the world (two in the central Pacific, two in Asia and three in the Atlantic). I have never seen that many that often before. If that is not a sign of climate change, what is?

Jon Shimamoto

Mililani

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