Hurricane Iniki

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Hurricane Iniki

Category 4 hurricane (SSHS)

Overhead view of Iniki

Formed

September 5, 1992

Dissipated

September 13, 1992

Highest
winds

140 mph (220 km/h) (1-minute sustained)

Lowest pressure

938 mbar (hPa; 27.71 inHg)

Fatalities

6 direct

Damage

$1.8 billion (1992 USD)
$2.8 billion (2008 USD)

Areas
affected

Hawaiʻi (particularly Kauaʻi)

Part of the
1992 Pacific hurricane season

Hurricane Iniki (pronounced [iniki]) (Hawaiian for strong and piercing wind^[1]) was the most powerful hurricane to strike the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi and the Hawaiian Islands in recorded history. Forming during the strong El Niño of 1991–1994, Iniki was one of eleven Central Pacific tropical cyclones during the 1992 season. The eye of Hurricane Iniki passed directly over the island of Kauaʻi on September 11, 1992, as a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. It was the first hurricane to hit the state since Hurricane Iwa in the 1982 season, and the first major hurricane since Hurricane Dot in 1959.

Iniki caused around $1.8 billion (1992 US dollars) in damage and six deaths. At the time, Iniki was among the costliest United States hurricanes, and it remains one of the costliest hurricanes on record in the eastern Pacific. The storm struck just weeks after Hurricane Andrew—the costliest tropical cyclone ever at the time—struck the U.S. state of Florida.

Because of well-deployed warnings, Iniki caused only six deaths. Damage was greatest on Kauaʻi, where the hurricane destroyed over 1,400 houses and severely damaged over 5,000. Though not directly in the path, Oʻahu still experienced moderate damage from storm surge.

1 Storm history
2 Preparations
3 Impact
- 3.1 Kauaʻi
- 3.2 Oʻahu
4 Aftermath
5 See also
6 Notes
7 External links

[edit] Storm history

Storm path

The origin of Iniki is unclear, but it possibly began as a tropical wave that exited the African coast on August 18. It moved westward across the unfavorable Atlantic Ocean and crossed Central America into the Pacific on the 28th. The wave continued rapidly westward and remained disorganized. Conditions slowly became more favorable, and, as the convection concentrated around a center, the wave was classified Tropical Depression Eighteen-E on September 5, located 1700 miles (2700 km) southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico or 1550 miles (2500 km) east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaiʻi. The depression continued quickly westward and remained weak until the 8th, when it slowed enough to strengthen to a tropical storm.

Iniki (left) as a newly-formed tropical storm next to Hurricane Orlene

Located at the southern periphery of a subtropical ridge, Iniki continued westward and strengthened over the unusually favorable central Pacific; it reached hurricane status on September 9 while 470 miles (760 km) south-southeast of Hilo. The subtropical ridge, which typically keeps hurricanes well away from the Hawaiian Islands, weakened due to an approaching upper level-trough and allowed Iniki to turn to the northwest. With very favorable upper-level outflow and warm water temperatures, Iniki steadily intensified, and attained major hurricane status on September 10 while south-southwest of the island chain.^[1]

As Iniki turned to the north, it continued to strengthen, reaching a peak of 145 mph (230 km/h) winds on September 11 while 170 miles (270 km) south-southwest of Poʻipū on the island of Kauaʻi. It continued rapidly to the north-northeast, and made landfall on south-central Kauai early on the 11th with winds of 140 mph (220 km/h), making Iniki a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. After crossing the island, Iniki rapidly accelerated north-northeastward, weakened rapidly, and was absorbed by a cold front as it lost tropical characteristics and became extratropical on September 13 about halfway between Alaska and Hawaiʻi.^[1]

[edit] Preparations

The Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) issued tropical cyclone warnings and watches for the hurricane well in advance. Accurate forecasts allowed effective evacuations, minimizing deaths on the islands.

A hurricane watch was issued for Kauaʻi early on September 11 and was upgraded to a hurricane warning later that day.^[1] Prior to Iniki's arrival in Kauaʻi, 8,000 people were housed in shelters, most of whom remembered Hurricane Iwa 10 years prior. Rather than sending tourists to public shelters, two major hotels kept their occupants in the buildings during the storm's passage. During the evacuation of the island, people left days before to family, friends or shelters. Because schools were cancelled, traffic was light and evacuation was well-executed.^[2]

The CPHC issued a tropical storm warning for Oʻahu on September 11 which was upgraded to a hurricane warning later that day.^[1] Though not hit by the hurricane, Iniki's large wind field caused nearly 30,000 people to evacuate to 110 public shelters in Oʻahu. Public school buildings acted as shelters, and were for refuge only, meaning they did not provide food, cots, blankets, medications or other comfort items. Roughly one-third of Oʻahu's population participated in the evacuation, though many others went to the house of a family member or friend for shelter. The execution of the evacuations went well, beginning with the vulnerable coastal area. For those in need, vans and buses gave emergency transportation, while police manned certain overused intersections. The two main problems that occurred during the evacuation were lack of parking at shelters and exit routes for the coastlines.^[2]

[edit] Impact

**Costliest Eastern Pacific hurricanes**
Cost refers to total estimated property damage.
Rank	Hurricane	Season	Cost (2007 USD)
1	Pauline	1997	$9.6 billion
2	Iniki	1992	$2.6 billion
3	Iwa	1982	$664 million
4	Kathleen	1976	$144–577 million
5	Norma	1981	$303 million
Main article: List of Pacific hurricanes

Hurricane Iniki was the costliest hurricane to strike the state of Hawaiʻi, causing $1.8 billion ($2.6 billion in 2004 US dollars) in damage.^[3] Most damage was on the island of Kauaʻi, where the storm destroyed thousands of homes and left a large amount of the island without power, although Oʻahu also suffered significant damage. Iniki also was responsible for 6 deaths.^[1]

The hurricane nearly struck the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu. Had it hit there, Iniki, along with Hurricane Andrew and Typhoon Omar, would have struck each of the three National Weather Service offices responsible for tropical cyclone warnings within a two-month period.^[4]

[edit] Kauaʻi

Hurricane Iniki made landfall on the south-central portion of Kauaʻi island, bringing its dangerous inner core to the entire island.^[1] Upon making landfall the hurricane produced storm tides of 4.5–6 feet (1.4–1.8 m), with some portions of the coastlines having high water marks of up to 18 feet (5.5 m). In addition, strong waves of up to 35 feet (10.5 m) in height crashed along the southern coastline for several hours, causing a debris line of more than 800 feet (250 m) inland. Because it moved quickly through the island, there were no reports of significant rainfall.^[2]

Hurricane Iniki's making landfall during daylight hours, combined with the popularity of home video cameras, led many Kauaʻi residents to record much of the damage as it was occurring. A Hawaii production studio used this footage to create an hour-long video documentary titled "Hurricane Iniki: Through The Eyes of Kauai's People."^[5]^[6]

Wind damage to trees from Iniki

Hurricane Iniki's high winds caused extensive damage in Kauaʻi. 1,421 houses were completely destroyed, and 63 were lost from the storm surge and wave action. 5,152 homes were severely damaged, while 7,178 received minor damage.^[1] On the south coast, hotels and condominiums received severe damage as well. A few were restored quickly, though some took several years to be rebuilt. One hotel—the Coco Palms Resort famous for Elvis Presley's Blue Hawaii—never reopened after the hurricane.^[7] Destroyed housing across the island left more than 7,000 people homeless after the storm's passage.^[8]

Sidewalk and tree damage from Iniki

Iniki's Category 4 winds also downed 26.5% of the island's transmission poles, 37% of its distribution poles, and 35% of its 800 mile (1300 km) distribution wire system. The entire island lacked electricity and television service for an extended period of time.^[8] Electric companies restored only 20% of the island's power service within four weeks of Iniki, while other areas were without power for up to three months. Also affected by the storm was the agricultural sector.^[1] Though much of the sugar cane was already harvested,^[8] what was left was severely damaged. The winds destroyed tender tropical plants like bananas and papayas and uprooted or damaged fruit and nut trees.^[1]

Most of Iniki's damage occurred in Kauaʻi. On the island, one person died when struck by debris, while another lost her life when a portion of her house fell on her. Offshore, two Japanese nationals died when their boat capsized. The reduced death toll was likely due to well-executed warnings and preparation. More than 100 injuries can be attributed to Iniki, though most occurred in the aftermath of the hurricane.^[1]

Among those on Kauaʻi was filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who was preparing for the final day of on-location shooting of the movie Jurassic Park. He and his 130 cast and crew remained safely in a hotel during Iniki's passage.^[9]

The U.S. Coast Guard station at Nawiliwili Harbor was hard hit by the storm, fatally damaging the service's 82-foot (25 m) cutter stationed there. The Coast Guard promptly established a humanitarian response detachment, commanded by Lt. Kenneth Armstrong, which helped to provide medical supplies, food, ice, water, and cash grants to island residents, as well as making temporary repairs to public buildings. Under Armstrong's command, the port was recertified to receive gasoline and diesel fuel, which helped to relieve a major fuel shortage caused by the widespread use of personal electrical generators. A larger DoD contingent, nicknamed "Operation Garden Sweep," provided large scale relief in the form of tent cities, utility repairs, road clearings, and major medical operations.^[10]^[11]

[edit] Oʻahu

Upon passing by Oʻahu, Iniki produced tides of 1.7–3 feet (0.5–0.9 m) above normal.^[2] Prolonged periods of high waves severely eroded and damaged the southwestern coast of Oʻahu, with the areas most affected being Barbers Point through Kaʻena.^[1] The Waiʻanae coastline experienced the most damage, with waves and storm surge flooding the second floor of beachside apartments.^[12] In all, Hurricane Iniki caused several million dollars in property damage,^[2] and two deaths on Oʻahu.^[1]

[edit] Aftermath

Storm surge from Iniki

Immediately after the storm, many were relieved to have survived the worst of the Category 4 hurricane; their complacency turned to apprehensiveness due to lack of information, as every radio station was out and there was no news available for several days. Using food from unpowered refrigerators and freezers, communities held lavish parties to overcome the situation. Though food markets allowed those affected to take what they needed, many Kauaʻi citizens insisted on paying. Because the hurricane destroyed much of their belongings, many groups gathered for video parties powered by portable generators. In addition, entertainers from all of Hawaiʻi, including the Honolulu Symphony, provided free concerts to the victims.^[7]

Looting occurred in the aftermath of Iniki, though it was very minor. A group of Army Corps of Engineers, who experienced the looting of Hurricane Andrew just weeks before, were surprised at the overall calmness and lack of violence on the island. Kauaʻi citizens remained hopeful for monetary aid from the government or insurance companies, though after six months they felt annoyed with the lack of help.^[7] The military effectively provided aid for their immediate needs, though, and help arrived before local officials requested aid.^[13]

Amateur radio proved to be extremely helpful during the three weeks after the storm, with volunteers coming from the neighboring islands as well from around the Pacific to assist in the recovery. There was support of local government communications in Lihue in the first week of recovery ^[12] as well as a hastily-organized effort by local operators to assist with the American Red Cross and their efforts to provide shelters and disaster relief centers across Kauai.^[14]

In the months after the storm, many insurance companies left Hawaiʻi. To combat this, State Governor John D. Waihee III enacted the Hurricane Relief Fund in 1993 to help unprotected Hawaiʻi residents. The fund was never needed for another Hawaiʻi hurricane, and it was stopped in 2000 when insurance companies returned to the island.^[15]

Folk legend states that Hurricane Iniki blew apart many chicken coops, some possibly used to house fighting chickens; this caused a dramatic increase in the numbers of wild chickens roaming Kauaʻi.^[16]

The name Iniki was retired due to this storm in 1993, and was replaced with Iolana in the Central North Pacific tropical storm list. Since that list is rotated through regardless of year, Iolana has not been used for any storm and is not likely to be used for decades due to the relative rarity of storm formation in the Central Pacific.