Some 800 Hawaiian Electric customers on Hawaii island are still without power in the aftermath of a severe storm that caused widespread outages, flooding and toppled utility lines and trees across the state.
Approximately 40,000 Hawaiian Electric customers on Hawaii island experienced outages over the course of the powerful storm Monday. “Even as customers are being restored, new outages are occurring primarily due to flooding or trees being knocked into our lines by strong winds,” said spokeswoman Teri Theuriet in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
Though crews are working as quickly as possible to safely restore power, extended outages to an estimated 800 customers in Waipio, Ahualoa and Hawaiian Ocean View Estates are anticipated.
Of the 800 affected customers, power to about 400 customers in Waipio is projected to be restored by Friday, to about 300 customers in Ahualoa by Thursday and to approximately 100 customers in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates late today or early Thursday.
Hawaiian Electric is also conducting damage assessments across the island. Theuriet said two transmission lines along the Hamakua coast will need repairs.
In Maui County as many as 12,000 customers suffered outages due to high winds and heavy rain Monday. Crews restored power to a majority of the customers as of 3 p.m. Tuesday. “Crews are making steady progress on the fewer than a dozen partial circuit or pocket outages remaining,” Theuriet said.
The severe storm also contributed to some service disruptions for Hawaiian Telcom customers across the state.
The company had temporarily suspended repair work at the height of the storm for safety reasons for employees, said spokeswoman Ann Nishida Fry in a statement Tuesday.
“Since the weather has stabilized, we are back to business as usual and service has already been restored to many customers,” she said.
A high-wind warning issued by the National Weather Service for summits on Hawaii island remained in effect until 6 a.m. today as forecasters expected west winds of 50 to 80 miles per hour and localized gusts over 100 mph.
High-surf conditions of “dangerously large breaking waves of 30 to 40 feet” are also forecast for the north- and west-facing shores of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu and Molokai and north-facing shores of Maui until the late afternoon hours today.
