Post Hurricane, Day Two
Totes of water for cleaning dishes in the kitchen- Water to use sparingly for abhishekam and cleaning puja tray in Kadavul Temple. Another set of buckets are brought to Iraivan Temple.
- Example of trees landing on our guhas (monks’ sleeping huts)
- Two large-diameter uprooted talipot palm trees completely blocking the main road to Iraivan Temple
- Uprooted large lychee tree nearby the flagpole (except there is no longer a flag; it was ripped off and disappeared)
- Many downed branches from swamp mahogany trees
- Greenhouse covers blown off in Annapurna vegetable garden
- Another downed lychee tree next to Annapoorna Garden
- Many hibiscus plants providing flowers for the temples were blown over but the roots are fortunately still in the ground.
- Many uprooted avocado trees in our fruit orchard
- Large downed tree across the San Marga path, just before Muruga Hill
- View from San Marga path small Ganesha shrine towards the rudraksha grove, with massive uprooted bamboo clumps over the path in the distance
- Branches strewn throughout the rudraksha grove
- Electric company truck inspecting power lines near our property
We embarked an another very clear, sunny, hot day as is the typical weather for a while after a hurricane. Much coordination occurred with mobile washing and cooking water supply totes from our rain-catchment tank, including bring a trailer tank of water over to the house where our temple priest and cook stay. Our chainsaws revved up again to clear more small trees from pathways. Additional trees had fallen since the night of the hurricane, weakened by the winds. We hear that the airport has reopened, though running on generator power. The electric company and county department of water are working hard to assess damages and start to restore power and clean water supply to the island. Portable generators have to be staged in various locations to pump water from tanks while the power is still out. Extra tree trimming contractors were brought to Kauai before the hurricane struck, so enough teams could be ready to fan across the island in the aftermath. Around 15-20 souls braved their limited living conditions to come up and pray in Kadavul Temple, some with suitcases in hand. One local devotee said he was woken up at night in his house during the hurricane by a tree branch piercing through the roof and ceiling of his bedroom.
Photos above include a larger sample of downed trees around the property, giving a sense of the tremendous cleanup process ahead of us.
Below is a video showing some of the island damage, mostly on the south side coast from the storm surge.
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