1 of 4 2 of 4 3 of 4 4 of 4
(Photos courtesy John Hiduchick-Nakayama)
BOSTON (WBZ-AM) -- Hawaii is facing a long road to recovery following last week's massive hurricane. WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz spoke to one Massachusetts native who experienced flooding there.
John Hiduchick-Nakayama moved out to Hawaii from East Boston about two years ago. Now, the Hawaii National Guard Chaplain is scheduled to go on duty just days after Hurricane Lane dumped over 50 inches of rain on the Big Island. He said there was widespread flooding there, and many were stranded--and that the island has a long way to go.
"Right now, it's still flooded, we still have massive flooding," Hiduchick-Nakayama said. "We have most of Hilo Bay front still closed, so that's an issue, and supplying goods is also an issue until the ship come into town. There was no water on the island, and no boats can come in to bring us food."
On top of these issues, he says residents are also dealing with another natural disaster--lava from the Kilauea volcano created steamy white-out conditions.
"That's another concern for people on the island, because there was tons of homes that were lost," he said. "And now with the lava starting up again and then the flooding, it's just making people a lot more stressed."
Luckily, though his neighborhood flooded, his home did not sustain significant damage. He's also thankful he still has a water supply while others are waiting for bottled water to be shipped in. He'll deploy to support hurricane relief efforts this week.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz (@BerniceWBZ) reports