HURRICANE “DOT” & KAUAI GUARDSMEN
When hurricane Dot hit Kauai with her devastating winds and rain, Hawaii National Guardsmen on the island were ready. At the first warning, preparations were made to have transportation available; set up a radio net for auxiliary communications; then stand-by. Under the direction of Capt John M. English, Admin, Supply, and Maint Officer, all full. time employees and a few volunteer Guardsmen put everything in readiness, centering their activity in the Lihue-Kapaa area where the Office of Civil Defense anticipated the worst impact.
For the rest of that afternoon, radio contact was maintained with Honolulu via the ANGRC 26D. Later when telephone lines went down, the local radio net provided the only contact between Lihue and the storm front, Throughout the area, vehicles and their occupants, stalled by the heavy rains, were evacuated to safety by Guardsmen on voluntary duty.
The NG units were alerted, ready to be activated on call. Meanwhile, our Army advisor and Maj Frederick W. Weber, Asst G-3, were kept busy, assisting in OCD Hqs and coordinating with the many agencies at work keeping things under control.
When Dot finally arrived, she hit Kauai with enough force to frighten even those experienced in coping with wind storms. Gusts of wind, blowing at over 100 mph, tore at everything exposed. At the same time, rains, which had been heavy, increased, drenching the island. Windows, roofs and walls, normally weatherproof, proved no match for this combination. At Lihue Armory, personnel waded in 3 to 4 inches of water, fighting for hours to protect the files, furniture, etc., from damage.
Then, as her fury mounted until it seemed that every building would surely go, Dot suddenly turned off wind and rain altogether- we were in the “eye.” When the winds picked up again, they fell short of their earlier intensity and gradually died away.
A short time later, dawn broke, showing the destruction Dot left behind. Roofs were torn from houses, trees uprooted, and normality had all hut disappeared.
The fact that damage was not greater, and that no lives were lost, can he attributed to the outstanding job done by Maj Manuel K. Medeiros, Acting Deputy Director of OCD on Kauai, and to the tremendous response by the community at large, who kept abreast of the situation through their portable radios.
But the real work had just begun.
For emergency roofing the US Army and US Marine Corps on Oahu flew three plane loads of tarpaulins to Lihue. Here again, the Guard was called upon. The AST’s and other full-time employees (who had yet to see their families, homes and private damages) and the Sgt Advisor led groups of volunteers in unloading these tarps, transporting them to the Armory, then turning them over to the Red Cross for distribution.
Finally with the immediate requirements met, we took that much needed break for a hot meal, a shower, and a good night’s sleep.
– 1959 September The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 13
1959 (August)
– 1963 June The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 7
With winds of 100 Miles Per Hour, Hurricane “Dot,” like Hurricane “Nina,” missed all islands except Kauai. The wind and rain knocked out all communications on the Garden Island. However, Guardsmen, with radio jeeps, kept communications open and assisted residents. Damage estimates were in the millions of dollars.