Hawaii was not hit by as many storms this past weekend as originally thought, but damage was still heavy in some places.
Originally, forecasters predicted that the state would suffer back-to-back blows from Hurricane Iselle and Julio. As such storms are quite rare in Hawaii—only two hurricane eyes have hit the state since the 1950s, according to CNN—locals were concerned about the impact of such a blow. However, conditions improved somewhat when Hurricane Iselle was downgraded to a tropical storm at the last minute, and Hurricane Julio missed the islands altogether.
"We dodged a bullet," Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell told CNN.
Still, Iselle had a major impact. The Los Angeles Times reported that when the storm reached Maui on Friday, "it virtually shut down the state for a day as residents and hotel operators heeded warning and prepared for the worst."
Numerous roads and highways were closed across the state. In addition, heavy rains and high winds reportedly knocked down trees that took power lines with them. In a few instances, the news source reported that houses may have been damaged by falling debris.
Some parts of the state ended up under severe flood warnings. In Oahu, for example, local officials measured rainfall at as much as 2 inches per hour.
Even though they are not as strong as hurricanes, tropical storms still pose a danger to residential and commercial property. The mercurial nature of these storms is such that owners need to take steps to protect their property. Insurers benefit from using a valuation system capable of providing accurate replacement cost estimates for diverse markets with a wide range of structure types in various settings, as well as on islands thousands of miles from building supplies.