Two of the worst hurricanes to hit Hawaii in recent times have come in September and November. Their names were Iniki and Iwa.

I feel we, in Hawaii, let our guard down later into “hurricane season.” It’s part of the mindset of the news media to write about hurricanes in Hawaii at the beginning of June. Then a couple of months pass and the public has moved on to other things. Our guards are down.

Hurricanes can come at any time, and we need to be ready. The former Boy Scout in me wants to remind everyone to be prepared. To encourage that, here are some readers’ experiences with hurricanes.

Hurricane Iniki

Steve Timberlake remembered that “on September 11, 1992, the residents of the state of Hawaii were awakened at 5:30 a.m. by Civil Defense sirens.”

“We, on Oahu, had gone to bed the previous evening feeling fairly safe. The forecasters on the late news that night had been fairly sure the storm would pass well south of the islands.

“Thus, when the sirens went off that Friday morning, it was a shock.

“Hurricane Iniki had taken a sharp right turn and was headed north, right at us. I experienced an immediate panic.

“My family was on Maui for the weekend, so the entire split-level house was my responsibility. What to do first? It was only two weeks after Hurricane Andrew had hit South Florida, and we had seen all those horrific photos on the news. The images of potential devastation were pretty clear in my mind.

“I couldn’t do much about the roof if it were to blow off, but there were 10 sliding glass doors which opened to the outdoors. I needed masking tape for them. Then there were at least six floor-to-ceiling windows elsewhere in the house. More masking tape required.

“Did we have tape? Nope. What to do? Why, what any self-respecting resident of Hawaii does when faced with dock strikes or national disasters: go to Longs Drugs.

“At 6:30 a.m. I was in my car heading down the hill to buy hurricane prep materials at the neighborhood drug store. Virtually every other person within driving distance had been equally remiss in stocking up on toilet paper, rice, batteries and bottles of water. The crowds were huge.

“Nonetheless, the stuff got purchased eventually, and back up the hill I went. After the windows were taped, I started thinking about what else I should do.

“Deck furniture and flowerpots can become projectiles when carried by gale-force winds, so that was the next chore. I managed to get all of the pool deck furniture in the crawl space under the house. Only later did it occur to me that I could have just thrown it all into the pool itself.

“The other deck furniture ended up inside the house, strewn about two rooms. Then I concentrated on plants.

“Just off the back deck was a dracaena tree, with multiple trunks. On each trunk were hung a dozen orchid plants, each in a concrete pot. The pots could easily have been blown off the tree, so I removed each one and found a place to store them.

“Once those were placed out of the wind’s way, the interior of the house looked as though I was running a combination garage sale and plant nursery, but I felt that I’d done about all that I could.

“My neighbor, meanwhile, was doing the same thing at her house. When she was done, she called me to tell me she was coming over to our house with her two cats (in carriers), as she didn’t want to be alone.

“I was glad to have the company; my dogs perhaps less so. By this time it was probably about 11:30 a.m. The storm had turned north-westward and was heading directly for Kauai.

“Some longtime friends who had just flown in from the mainland on their way home to Kauai, asking if we could put them up. Of course I said yes, and within a half-hour they drove up in a rental car.

“The winds worsened on Oahu until midafternoon. The four of us watched the trees on either side of the driveway bend and sway dramatically, but no branches came down.

“The eye of the storm made landfall on Kauai at about 3:30 p.m. and did tremendous damage. Seven people were killed, and some 15,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. The economic loss took years to make up.

“Telephone and electrical lines were down all over the island. Four weeks later, only 20% of power had been restored. Television news crews could not get there, nor could newspaper reporters. Amateur (or ham) radio operators were the only conduit for news.

“My family made it back from Maui the following day. They were quite impressed with the precautions I’d taken. Our friends from Kauai had to wait nearly a week to go home. When they did get back, they learned their home had been seriously damaged. It took several months to repair.

“If the storm had hit Oahu with anything like the force it had when striking Kauai, the loss of life and property damage would have been immense.”

Preparation saves lives

Most experts recommend against taping windows. It can keep glass shards larger and more dangerous. Instead, cover windows with plywood or shutters.

Make a family emergency plan. Good preparation begins months or years in advance and can save lives. Where will you meet if separated and unable to communicate? Where will you hunker down in the house if necessary?

What is your pet plan? Is your hurricane insurance up to date? Are your important documents backed up? Is your gas tank full?

What will you do for power, food, water or medicine? Can you survive two weeks without electricity, water and groceries? What if family, friends or neighbors haven’t fully prepared?

Buy a little more than you need when you shop to build an emergency stockpile over time, such as instant noodles, heat-and-eat foods, snacks and drinks.

Have a “go bag” ready for each person and pet if you need to evacuate, with food, water, toiletries, medicine, radio, flashlight, batteries, chargers, knife, clothing, cash, can opener, lighter, blanket and first-aid kit.

Encourage your employer to maintain emergency bags in case staff needs to stay overnight, or walk home. Food, water, blankets, lanterns and batteries might come in handy if a disaster occurs during work hours.

A rain barrel connected to your roof downspout can collect lots of water in Hawaii when it rains.

Supplies to consider include a hurricane radio, a fire extinguisher, lanterns, flashlights and batteries

Huddled under the table

“I had family living in Lihue, Kauai,” Wyman Au said. “My sister-in-law had a very large, heavy cutting table in one of her rooms where she taught sewing.

“Long story short, she and her husband and three boys, and some neighbors huddled under this heavy table praying to God for their dear lives, as the storm hit them that day.

“Their entire garage was blown away, plus a good part of her living room. Half of her house was destroyed! Hurricane Iniki caused tremendous damage on Kauai but, fortunately, took very few lives.”

Waist deep in water

Mike Gormley said his family owned a rental home 50 feet from the rocky coastline of Makaha in the 1980s. “It was a Hicks Home, with single-wall redwood siding, oak floors and simple, high-quality workmanship.

“Hurricane Iwa damaged Makaha and the Leeward side in late November 1982. My folks had two young mainland women renting the house. They were teachers at the local elementary school.

“These two women thought they would ride out the hurricane hunkered down at home. But things got out of hand. Very large waves crashed onto the rocks and washed past the house. The young women couldn’t go anywhere. They were trapped!

“Finally, two big Hawaiian policemen arrived and carried them out on their shoulders through waist-deep water. The storm surge picked up the house and ‘broke its back’ over a downed palm tree.

“Later, a contractor gave my father $5,000 for the Hicks house, and he hauled it away.”

Kauai

Retired dentist Jerry Takesono said he was watching a TV news story about the destruction of Hurricane Iniki on Kauai.

“Along the road to the Lihue airport, there were many, many abandoned rental cars. The tourists were asked to leave immediately because there was no way the island could support them.

“Having grown up in Kapaa, I was looking for landmarks, but I couldn’t recognize anything until I saw, in a pile of rubble, a sign that said ‘Larry’s Music Studio.’

“I exclaimed out loud, ‘My God, that’s Kapaa town!’ I felt so bad seeing that studio where Mr. Matsuda, the most patient man who ever lived, had given me piano and ukulele lessons.

“I was filled with a great sadness: If only I had practiced at least once a week instead of torturing that poor man!”