page_title: Hurricane Iniki
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Iniki / Aftermath
context_page_description: Hurricane Iniki was the most powerful hurricane to strike the U.S. state of Hawaii in recorded history. Forming on September 5, 1992, during the strong 1990–1995 El Niño, Iniki was one of eleven Central Pacific tropical cyclones during that season. It attained tropical storm status on September 8 and further intensified into a hurricane the next day. After turning north, Iniki struck the island of Kauaʻi on September 11 at peak intensity; it had winds of 145 mph and reached Category 4 status on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale. It had recorded wind gusts of 225 as evidenced by an anemometer that was found blown into the forest during clean up. 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 dissipated on September 13 about halfway between Hawaii and Alaska.
  Iniki caused around $3.1 billion in damage and six deaths, making it the costliest natural disaster on record in the state, and the second-costliest Pacific hurricane on record. At the time, Iniki was among the costliest United States hurricanes.
context_section_description: 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. Because Iniki knocked out electrical power for most of the island, communities held parties to necessarily consume perishable food from unpowered refrigerators and freezers. Though food markets allowed those affected to take what they needed, many Kauaʻi citizens insisted on paying. In addition, entertainers from all of Hawaiʻi, including Graham Nash (who owns a home on the north shore of Kauaʻi) and the Honolulu Symphony, provided free concerts to the victims.
  The film Jurassic Park was being filmed at the time; the sets used for the deleted scene where Mr. Arnold goes to the shed to turn the power on were destroyed, and the cast and crew took shelter in a hotel. Shots of Iniki made it in to the final film. 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. Although electrical power was restored to most of the island approximately six weeks following the hurricane, students returned to Kauaʻi public schools two weeks after the disaster.  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. The military effectively provided aid for their immediate needs, though, and help arrived before local officials requested aid.
  Amateur radio proved to be extremely helpful during the three weeks after the storm, with volunteers coming from the neighboring islands as well as from around the Pacific to assist in the recovery. There was support of local government communications in Lihue in the first week of recovery  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 Kauaʻi.
  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.
  It is thought that Hurricane Iniki blew apart many chicken coops, some possibly used to house fighting chickens; this caused a dramatic increase in the numbers of feral chickens roaming Kauaʻi.
caption: Storm surge from Iniki
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