US: Kauai mayor urges residents off roads as Hurricane Lowell intensifies.

RESTRICTION: USERS MUST CREDIT “COUNTY OF KAUAI” HANDOUT —EDITORIAL USE ONLY— SHOTLIST: KAUAI, HAWAII, US (SEP. 7, 2026) (COUNTY OF KAUAI - RESTRICTED) 1. (SOUNDBITE) (English) KAUAI MAYOR DEREK KAWAKAMI, SAYING: “...Folks, as you folks have noticed, things have continued to escalate during the daytime and it's going to continue to get more and more challenging throughout the night. The anticipated peak is anywhere from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. But take that with a grain of salt because folks, like I've said before, we are dealing with Mother Nature... ...Folks, what we're going to experience overnight, especially for people on Niihau, West and South Kauai, but again, we're a round island. If you take a look at the size of our island and that storm system, we can expect to see your sort of tropical storm, hurricane, storm conditions, which mean low-lying areas are an area of our concern. Any of our coastal areas, we're worried about storm surge... ...So earlier we issued a voluntary evacuation, and that's to put everybody on our coastline, especially on south and west Kauai, that, hey, it's pretty dangerous... You guys should maybe think it through, maybe seek higher ground...We have been begging and pleading for folks to stay off the road. I am now, we are now, telling you to stay off the road... ...Every single red icon up here represents an obstruction, a hazard, a downed utility line, fallen trees, all of the above, because the peak of the storm is starting to arrive, as we've been talking about. It's going to get hairier before it gets better. So that's why we're telling you to stay off the road...”KAUAI, HAWAII, US - SEP. 7 - RESTRICTION: USERS MUST CREDIT “COUNTY OF KAUAI” HANDOUT —EDITORIAL USE ONLY—: Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami urged residents to stay off roads on Monday, Sept. 7, as Hurricane Lowell brought down utility lines and trees on the Hawaiian island, with conditions expected to worsen overnight. “We have been begging and pleading for folks to stay off the road. I am now - we are now - telling you to stay off the road,” Kawakami said. Pointing to a map of reported hazards, he warned that the storm's peak was beginning to arrive. Kawakami also outlined plans for ground crews and an aerial survey to assess damage on Tuesday morning and help direct resources. Earlier, he had urged coastal residents, particularly in southern and western Kauai, to move to higher ground under a voluntary evacuation request prompted by storm surge concerns. The Category 2 hurricane was packing sustained winds of 110 mph about 135 miles southwest of Lihue at 8 p.m., the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said. Its projected track would take it just west of Niihau and Kauai, with hurricane-force winds expected on Niihau and possible on Kauai overnight into Tuesday. Power outages affected around 11,500 customers on Kauai and 7,000 on Oahu, the agency said. It warned of heavy rain, flash floods, landslides and extreme surf, while a tornado watch remained in effect on Kauai. Hawaii's Department of Transportation said the highway reopened between Orange Street and Makaha Valley Road at 8.30 p.m. after crews cleared sand from the road. Writing by Taha Mazi