Widely regarded as a tropical paradise, Hawaii was anything but from March 20\u201322 as two Kona low-pressure systems unleashed heavy rain and strong winds, causing widespread destruction and at least one reported fatality.<\/p>\n
The hardest-hit areas included Oahu\u2019s North Shore and southeast Maui, which were struck by as much as 46 inches of rain in areas triggering floods, landslides, and widespread destruction. An estimated $1 billion in damage to homes, businesses, and farms has been reported, with hundreds of structures torn off their foundations, roads destroyed, vehicles swept away, and residents left homeless. Surviving structures in impacted areas are not only flooded but also coated with mud. <\/p>\n
Among the islands\u2019 many Catholic facilities, varying degrees of damage have been reported and relief efforts are underway. Among those taking a leading role are Catholic organizations, including EPIC Ministry, the Knights of Columbus, and Catholic Charities Hawaii \u2014 as well as many Catholic parishes.<\/p>\n Father Romple Emwalu\u00a0is pastor of St. Michael Church in Waialua and serves a parish mission, Sts. Peter and Paul Mission near Waimea Bay, located eight miles away. Both are located on Oahu\u2019s North Shore, popular for its surfing, and were the hardest-hit Hawaii Catholic churches in the storms.<\/p>\n Emwalu\u00a0recalled that for three days \u201cit was windy and rained continuously.\u201d While St. Michael\u2019s is located on a hillside and did not suffer significant flooding, many homes just below it were severely damaged and one washed away. The surrounding streets were also flooded, as was the parish parking lot and parish school lawn. The Sts. Peter and Paul Mission church also escaped serious damage, but the halls and offices around it were flooded.<\/p>\n As the storms subsided, St. Michael\u2019s became a hub for a variety of relief organizations. Food and clean water were distributed, and volunteers arrived to begin the process of clearing debris and cleaning homes. <\/p>\n \u201cMany of the homes of our parishioners were unlivable, with as much as 4 feet of water inside,\u201d Emwalu\u00a0told EWTN News.<\/p>\n Among the Catholic groups that mobilized to help was EPIC Ministry, a lay association of the faithful. While its main purpose, according to its president Dallas Carter, is \u201cto help young adults encounter Christ,\u201d a second focus is to help those in need, including helping those in emergency situations. <\/p>\n In the 2023 fire that killed 102 and wiped out the Maui town of Lahaina, for example, EPIC sent 300 volunteers and raised $500,000 to help victims.<\/p>\n Carter lives on Oahu and directly participated in helping North Shore victims. He noted that as the water receded, homes were filled with mud that destroyed residents\u2019 possessions, including carpets, furniture, appliances, and clothing. Many of these homes are uninhabitable, he said, \u201cand people are living out of suitcases.\u201d<\/p>\n St. Michael\u2019s has offered temporary shelter to the displaced, Emwalu explained, while others have gone to live with relatives elsewhere in the islands or to homeless shelters. <\/p>\n Besides housing, the priest said, transportation is difficult as well due to flooded roads and cars covered in water after the storms.<\/p>\n Yet there is plenty of reason to hope, Emwalu said, as many have stepped up to volunteer to help victims and donations have poured in. <\/p>\n \u201cTragedies like this can really bring out the best in people,\u201d Emwalu said. \u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to see people working together to help one another.\u201d<\/p>\n Another particularly hard-hit region of the island was the Kihei area of Maui. Pastor of Kihei\u2019s St. Theresa Parish, Father William Kunisch, told EWTN News: \u201cI\u2019ve lived in Hawaii for 35 years, and it\u2019s the worst storm I\u2019ve ever seen. The rain was torrential.\u201d<\/p>\n The parish church flooded, and portions of its parking lot were underwater for a week. The community around the parish was devastated, with roads washed out, telephone poles overturned, power outages widespread, and homes destroyed. <\/p>\n \u201cWe had parishioners whose homes were up to their waists in water,\u201d Kunisch said. He\u00a0joined other religious leaders at a local Red Cross relief site to offer spiritual support to victims. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople were traumatized. They were in disbelief, confused and overwhelmed,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n Referencing the Lahaina fire, the priest said: \u201cPeople are bearing a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Karen Powers, director of faith formation at St. Theresa, said the Kona storms reminded her of the flash floods she experienced when she had previously lived in Arizona. <\/p>\n \u201cI had seen that before and how devastating it can be; many people living in Kihei haven\u2019t,\u201d she said, noting the difficulties with transportation, as portions of the main shoreline road South Kihei were lost to sinkholes, and vehicles parked on roadways were swept away. <\/p>\n Area businesses were also heavily impacted, and according to Powers \u201cemployees were afraid to drive their vehicles on the road, concerned the water would push them into the ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n Monsignor Terry Watanabe, vicar for Maui and pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Wailuku, was born and reared in Maui and has spent much of his life there. He, too, noted: \u201cIt was the worst rainfall I\u2019ve ever seen; we had 1 to 2 inches come down an hour. The wind was strong, too. It was very unusual.\u201d<\/p>\n While the damage to St. Anthony\u2019s was minimal, there were catastrophic losses within his parish boundaries. These include the storm\u2019s first reported death \u2014 a 71-year-old woman who fell into the Wailuku River and was swept out to sea. Friends of a parishioner who built a home in the same area a few years before also saw the structure swept out to sea.<\/p>\n Watanabe also noted that the region was heavily dependent upon the tourist industry and that visitors were either canceling trips due to the rain or leaving early. He said: \u201cI had friends from Kentucky who came for a visit leave 10 days early because of the rain.\u201d<\/p>\n Father Kuriakose Nadooparambil, MF, pastor of Maria Lanakila Church in Lahaina, miraculously untouched by the 2023 fire while structures around it were destroyed, expressed his gratitude that flooding in Lahaina was minimal. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are blessed. The good Lord continues to protect us,\u201d Nadooparambil said. <\/p>\n St. Michael Parish has set up a relief fund<\/a> to assist flood victims. EPIC Ministry also welcomes donations for its flood relief<\/a> work.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Widely regarded as a tropical paradise, Hawaii was anything but from March 20\u201322 as two Kona low-pressure systems unleashed heavy rain and strong winds, causing widespread destruction and at least one reported fatality. The hardest-hit areas included Oahu\u2019s North Shore and southeast Maui, which were struck by as much as 46 inches of rain in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":43127,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"bron":[41],"class_list":["post-43126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nieuws","bron-cna"],"acf":[],"featured_image_urls":{"medium":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/43126-after-storms-devastate-hawaii-catholic-groups-and-parishes-mobilize-to-aid-victims-300x169.jpg","large":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/43126-after-storms-devastate-hawaii-catholic-groups-and-parishes-mobilize-to-aid-victims-1024x576.jpg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/43126-after-storms-devastate-hawaii-catholic-groups-and-parishes-mobilize-to-aid-victims-150x150.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/43126-after-storms-devastate-hawaii-catholic-groups-and-parishes-mobilize-to-aid-victims-768x432.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/43126-after-storms-devastate-hawaii-catholic-groups-and-parishes-mobilize-to-aid-victims-1536x865.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/43126-after-storms-devastate-hawaii-catholic-groups-and-parishes-mobilize-to-aid-victims-2048x1153.jpg","Inhoud breed":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/43126-after-storms-devastate-hawaii-catholic-groups-and-parishes-mobilize-to-aid-victims-860x484.jpg","echo_preview_image":"https:\/\/explorecatholic.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/43126-after-storms-devastate-hawaii-catholic-groups-and-parishes-mobilize-to-aid-victims-260x146.jpg"},"appp_media":null,"yoast_head":"\n