Everything Is So Green: Puamana After the March Storms – Lahaina, Maui
The Kona lows of March 2026 were historic, but at our Puamana Community, the gardens are blooming, the ocean pool is open, the beach has filled in, and the work is well underway.
If you’ve been following along from afar and wondering how Puamana is doing after March’s back-to-back Kona lows — the honest answer is: better than you might think.The first thing you notice coming into our oceanfront community right now is how incredibly green everything looks. All that rain did what Maui rain does — it fed the lawns, the coconut palms, the plumeria and hopefully filled the aquifers. The gardens are lush and full.
The storms themselves were something. Two Kona lows rolled through in the span of ten days — March 11–15 and again around March 20–22 — the kind of slow-moving systems that push moisture in from the southwest and overwhelm drainage that was never designed for that direction.Kahului recorded over seven inches of rain in a single day, breaking every record at the station. Upcountry saw more than 44 inches over five days. It was genuinely historic weather for the whole island.
Kauʻula Stream Took the Hardest Hit
The story in our corner of Lahaina really centers on Kauʻula Stream. That stream runs down from the West Maui Mountains and when a Kona low pushes that much water that fast, it shows.The stream surged with brown water carrying sediment down from the mauka areas — a visible reminder of how connected the mountains and the coast really are.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWkBsBbkk8Z
Kauʻula Stream drains a large watershed above Lahaina. During the March storms, the volume and force of the water through the channel filled up to the top of the cement.
Around Lahaina more broadly, Honoapiʻilani Highway saw temporary closures from flooding and debris, and some neighborhoods north of town dealt with retention basin monitoring and evacuation advisories as a precaution.But the water levels came down. Birds are happy. Crews were out quickly. Within days the highway was moving again and the cleanup was well underway.
Where Things Stand Now
Maui County has crews actively assessing and repairing storm damage across the island, and West Maui is part of that effort. Roads are being patched, drainage cleared, and debris hauled away.The county has set up storm damage reporting so residents and businesses can document impacts and help support requests for state and federal recovery funding — a smart step given how widespread the effects were island-wide.At Puamana itself, life has a familiar rhythm again. Morning walks on the quarter mile beach. Neighbors chatting over fences.This community has been through a lot — the 2023 wildfire reshaped Lahaina in ways that are still unfolding — and a big storm, while jarring, doesn’t shake the foundation of what makes this place special.The beach is beautiful, the sunsets are as good as ever, and the community genuinely appreciates the support. Lahaina continues to rebuild.
Mahalo for checking in on us. We’re doing just fine.
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