My power was just restored after Hurricane Lowell, so I can now respond to the article, “Lowell’s expected turn recalls paths of Iniki, Dot” (Star-Advertiser, Sept. 4). I am a Hurricane Iniki and now Lowell survivor. In the article, it was reported that Iniki caused $1.8 billion of damage in 1992, and that “several homes and buildings on Kauai and Leeward Oahu were damaged or destroyed.”
It wasn’t just several homes and buildings. Perusing through several articles, 14,350 homes or buildings were damaged during Hurricane Iniki — 1,421 were destroyed, 5,152 were severely damaged and 7,178 suffered minor damage.
People who did not suffer damage to their homes underwent survivors guilt.
To put everything in perspective, Gov. Josh Green estimated that Lowell caused more than $400 million of damage. In comparison, damage caused by Hurricane Iniki is equivalent to approximately $4.2 billion in today’s dollars.
Placido Valenciano
Lihue
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EXPRESS YOURSELF
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