page_title: Hurricane Iniki
section_title: Kauaʻi
hierarchical_section_title: Hurricane Iniki / Impact / Kauaʻi
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: Hurricane Iniki made landfall on the south-central portion of Kauaʻi island, bringing its dangerous inner core to the entire island. 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.
  Hurricane Iniki's making landfall during daylight hours, combined with the popularity of camcorders, led many Kauaʻi residents to record much of the damage as it was occurring.  The footage was later used to create an hour-long video documentary. Commercial air service was suspended.
  Hurricane Iniki's high winds caused extensive damage in Kauaʻi. 1,421 houses were destroyed, and 63 were lost from the storm surge and wave action. A total of 5,152 homes were severely damaged, while 7,178 received minor damage. 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.
  Destroyed housing across the island left more than 7,000 people homeless after the storm's passage.
  Iniki's high 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. 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 to four months. Also affected by the storm was the agricultural sector. Though much of the sugar cane was already harvested, what was left was severely damaged. The winds destroyed tender tropical plants like bananas and papayas and uprooted or damaged fruit and nut trees.
  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.
  Among those on Kauaʻi was filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who was preparing for the final day of on-location shooting of the film Jurassic Park. He and the 130 of his cast and crew remained safely in a hotel during Iniki's passage. According to Spielberg, "every single structure was in shambles; roofs and walls were torn away; telephone poles and trees were down as far as the eye could see." Spielberg included footage of Iniki battering the Kaua'i coastal walls as part of the completed film, where a tropical storm makes up a pivotal part of the plot. Members of the film's crew helped to clear some of the debris off of nearby roads.
caption: Wind damage to trees from Iniki
exif: {"Image Make": "Brennig's", "Image Model": "1.4.2", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Brennig's 1.4.2", "Image DateTime": "2005:01:26 14:13:13", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "190", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0210", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "RedGreenBlue", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "490", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "334"}