Updated

Updated · Hawaii News Now · Aug 17

Hawaii Shuts Statewide Offices, Schools and Courts for Aug. 17 as Hurricane Lala Disrupts Islands

Updated

Updated · Hawaii News Now · Aug 17

Hawaii Shuts Statewide Offices, Schools and Courts for Aug. 17 as Hurricane Lala Disrupts Islands

Q: With its gym serving as a storm shelter, when will Nāʻālehu Elementary actually be safe enough to welcome students back?

Nāʻālehu Elementary is not expected to be ready before next week at the earliest, and there is still no confirmed reopening date. The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education has already closed the school from Monday, Aug. 17, through Thursday, Aug. 20, because Storm Lala damaged classrooms and other facilities and because nearby road closures make access unsafe. Public schools statewide are also closed Friday, Aug. 21, for Statehood Day, so students will not return this week. Whether the campus can reopen after that depends on several unresolved issues: completion of structural and safety inspections, cleanup of storm damage, restoration of safe road access in the Kaʻū area, and the status of the school gym, which has been used as a county storm shelter. If the shelter is still needed, that could further delay a full return to normal campus operations. Conditions around Nāʻālehu and nearby Pāhala remain severe. Reports describe flooding, washed-out roads and bridges, downed trees and power lines, and widespread outages across Hawaiʻi Island. Highway 11 and local roads near Nāʻālehu and Waiʻōhinu were among routes affected, which is a key reason officials say the campus is not yet safely reachable. For now, the most accurate answer is that Nāʻālehu Elementary can reopen only after inspectors and emergency officials determine both the campus and access routes are safe, with families to be notified directly once that happens.

3 articles · Updated · Hawaii News Now · Aug 17

Monday closures will hit all Hawaii state offices, public schools, charter schools, courts and county offices after Hurricane Lala swept south of the islands and left unsafe conditions.
Non-essential state and county workers will get administrative leave, while emergency coordinators, disaster crews, hospital and correctional staff, infrastructure workers and assigned remote employees must still work.
Nāʻālehu Elementary on Hawaiʻi Island will stay closed through Aug. 20 because storm damage and nearby road closures still block safe access, extending disruption beyond the statewide one-day shutdown.
Critical services remain partly active: Honolulu transit and refuse collection continue, Kauaʻi and Hawaiʻi buses are running, and shelters in Kaʻū remain open for residents severely affected by Lala.