Could Your Community Become Isolated After a Disaster?
Prepare & Recover Series — Article 2
Published during Hurricane Lowell. Storm conditions can change quickly. Visit the Central Pacific Hurricane Center and follow County emergency alerts for current official information. This article was last reviewed September 3, 2026, following the 5:00 a.m. HST advisory.
Hurricane Lowell is giving Hawaiʻi another reason to pay attention.
The forecast shows Lowell eventually turning north within a broad area of uncertainty southwest of the islands. That does not mean a Kauaʻi landfall is currently predicted. It does mean that residents should continue monitoring official updates and use the time available to prepare.
The forecast cone shows the probable path of the storm’s center. It does not show the full size of the storm, and hazardous conditions can occur outside it.
But there is another important question that a forecast cone cannot answer:
If a road, bridge or communication system failed, could your community become isolated?
Isolation Can Happen Without a Direct Hit
A community does not need to experience the center of a hurricane to become isolated.
Heavy rain can flood a low-lying road. Strong winds can bring down trees and utility poles. High surf can damage coastal access. A landslide can block a highway after the worst weather has passed.
Kona Lows, wildfires, floods and tsunamis can create many of the same problems.
A neighborhood may still have one passable road but be unable to reliably reach:
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Medical care and medication.
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Food, water and fuel.
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Emergency shelters.
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Family members.
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Electricity and communications.
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Government assistance.
Isolation can also happen when roads remain open but cellular service and internet access fail. If residents cannot report their conditions—or emergency officials cannot verify those reports—assistance may be delayed.
Hawaiʻi’s Geography Creates Chokepoints
Many communities across Hawaiʻi depend on a limited number of roads, bridges or utility systems.
Think about places such as Hāna, Kaʻū, Waiʻanae, Hāʻena, Hanalei and rural communities throughout every island. A single closure may affect hundreds of households.
Ask yourself:
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Does our neighborhood have more than one safe way in and out?
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Do we cross a bridge or stream to reach the highway?
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Is our main road exposed to flooding, high surf or landslides?
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Could fallen trees or utility poles block emergency vehicles?
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Where would residents receive information if cellular service failed?
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Who nearby may need help evacuating?
These questions do not require expert training. They require people to look at familiar places differently.
What We Identified in Anahola
During development of the Build Back Better Anahola Pre-Disaster Framework, residents examined how damage could divide Anahola into three potential isolation areas:
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North Anahola
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Anahola Village
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South Anahola
The zones were not created to divide our community. They help us understand which neighbors may still be able to reach one another if normal routes are closed.
For example, flooding, bridge damage, fallen trees or a landslide could make it difficult to travel between different parts of Anahola. Residents might be unable to reach stores, fuel, medical care or family members even though other parts of Kauaʻi remain accessible.
Organizing by potential isolation area allows us to ask more useful questions:
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Who may need assistance?
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What resources would remain inside each area?
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Where could verified information be shared?
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How would local conditions be reported?
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Who has useful skills, vehicles or equipment?
The answers help turn a general disaster plan into a community system based on real people and real places.
Try This Five-Minute Community Exercise
Open a map of your neighborhood and locate the road you use to leave.
Follow that road until it connects with the main highway. Identify every bridge, stream crossing, steep slope, coastal section, large tree and utility line along the way.
Now imagine that one location becomes impassable.
Ask:
Who would be on the other side, and what would they need to remain safe?
Next, identify:
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One neighbor who may need assistance.
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One possible place to receive verified information.
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One person with useful training or equipment.
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One backup way to communicate.
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One problem that should be addressed before the next emergency.
You have just started a community isolation assessment.
Preparedness Begins With Connection
Government agencies and emergency responders will work to reopen roads, restore utilities and reach affected residents. During a widespread disaster, however, they may be managing urgent incidents across the entire island—or across several islands at once.
A connected community can help by providing clear information, checking on participating neighbors when conditions are safe and identifying urgent needs.
It cannot replace 911 or official emergency services. It can make the community easier to understand and support.
ʻĀina Alliance created a voluntary neighborhood registry using NRDS Software so Anahola residents can begin building those connections now.
Registration does not guarantee assistance or replace personal preparedness. It helps us understand where participating households are located, who may need additional support and what skills or resources may exist within our potential isolation zones.
JOIN THE ANAHOLA VOLUNTARY NEIGHBORHOOD REGISTRY
Lowell’s forecast may change. The next storm may turn away. But the roads, bridges and communication systems our communities depend on will remain the same.
We should understand those vulnerabilities before they are tested.
A prepared household is stronger. A connected neighborhood is safer. A network of organized communities makes Hawaiʻi more resilient.
COMING NEXT — ARTICLE 3
Could Your Household Make It Through the First 72 Hours?
If your community became isolated, would your household have enough water, food and medication—and a plan for power and communication—to remain safe?
START AT THE BEGINNING — ARTICLE 1
What Happens After the Wind Stops?
EXPLORE THE PREPARE & RECOVER SERIES
About This Series
This series is developed by ʻĀina Alliance, with leadership and preparedness perspective contributed by Jeremie Makepa, an Anahola community member who also serves as a Kauaʻi Fire Captain. The views and guidance presented are those of ʻĀina Alliance and do not constitute official communications from the County of Kauaʻi, Kauaʻi Fire Department or Kauaʻi Emergency Management Agency.
The ʻĀina Alliance neighborhood registry and community preparedness activities do not replace 911, official evacuation instructions, emergency shelters, police, fire, emergency medical services or government response agencies. During an emergency, follow all official warnings and instructions.