As many as eight to 12 inches of rain fell on parts of Oahu during the recent Kona low storms. Photo: Screenshot//@everythinginhawaii
A coalition of surf brands offered free merchandise for Oahu residents impacted by the devastating flooding on the North Shore two weeks ago. On April 4, affected residents who went to the Billabong Haleiwa store collected up to $500 worth of goods each.
Participating brands included Billabong, Quiksilver, Hurley, Roxy, Ripcurl, O’Neill, and OluKai, among others.
While original statements said $100,000 worth of goods would be made available, surf industry donations ended up totaling more than $300,000 — on top of additional products sent to residents of neighboring islands.
The product selection included clothing for men, women, and children, swimwear, OluKai footwear, Yeti products, masks, and goggles.
The donations were organized by HIC Surf, which said flood victims are still struggling as the North Shore recovers.
“Of course, the North Shore is the mecca of surfing, and everyone has an attachment to the North Shore,” Mitch McEwen, the HIC brand manager, told Hawaii News Now. “For us, we have three stores out here, so it’s literally our ohana that’s out here that was affected. It’s been great to see the support. Haleiwa is open (and) ready to support all the businesses.”
“That was another thing we wanted, just really let people know, come to Haleiwa, these businesses are struggling,” he added. “The same people who lost their homes and lost their cars and all that are also losing wages and tips because it’s been slow.”
The Kona low storms that impacted the Hawaiian Islands dropped eight to 12 inches of rain on parts of Oahu, leading to widespread flooding, particularly in low-lying areas. In an interview with The Inertia, waterman and Oahu resident Jamie Mitchell called it a “disaster zone.” Some 5,500 people were forced to evacuate, and more than 200 people had to be rescued. Fortunately, there were no deaths associated with the flooding.
