Three feet of floodwater tore across Seguin Family Farms in Waiāhole last Sunday afternoon, snapping the small farm's main water line, uprooting newly planted banana trees and toppling eggplant and okra. Now the 2.5-acre operation is turning to neighbors for help, hosting a community cleanup Saturday and Sunday starting at 9 a.m. each day to shovel out mud, clear debris and restore pathways and waterways across the property.
The flooding hit around 3 p.m. on September 6, when the overflowing Waikane Stream inundated the farm in under an hour, according to Aloha State Daily. The farm was left without running water. Farmer Jordan Seguin, 23, has a GoFundMe campaign and originally considered raising $2,000, the outlet reported.
According to KHON2, Seguin Family Farms called on the community to lend a hand, and the response has already been overwhelming, the farm said. Cleanup work includes removing fallen trees and branches, clearing debris and shoveling mud, and volunteers are encouraged to bring boots, gloves, water and equipment for debris removal, per the same report. Those unable to attend in person can still help by sharing information about the cleanup effort, the farm said, adding that community support will be critical as recovery continues.
A Farm Hit Three Times in One Year
This is not the first time floodwaters have found Seguin Family Farms in 2026. The September flood marked the third major flooding incident at the farm this year, following damage from March Kona Low storms and Hurricane Lala in mid-August, Aloha State Daily reported. The farm specializes in bananas, ti leaves and traditional Filipino produce, and it uses social media and local markets to promote regional food security and Filipino heritage, according to KITV.
Emergency officials have noted that Hurricane Lowell's rainfall fell on soil already saturated by Tropical Storm Lala less than a month earlier, accelerating runoff and raising flash flood risks in rural valleys, as detailed in Hoodline's coverage of school closures and road flooding on Maui. Waiāhole Valley has long struggled with this kind of stream flooding — a March 2021 storm diverted Waiāhole Stream directly through a state agricultural park water well and pump site, causing extensive infrastructure damage, per the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation.
A Storm With a Deadly Wider Toll
Hurricane Lowell's damage stretched far beyond Waiāhole. The storm disrupted power to more than 21,000 utility customers on Oʻahu, including 6,600 in Windward communities, and severed electricity to over 36,000 customers on Kauaʻi, cutting power to 90% of Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative customers, according to the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency. As of Saturday, Lowell had been linked to one tree-related death in Waimānalo on September 7; the victim was a 31-year-old unhoused man.
Lowell was the second named hurricane to brush Hawaiʻi in 2026, following Hurricane Lala in August, which produced hurricane-force wind gusts on Oʻahu and the Big Island for the first time in 155 years, according to The Guardian. State agencies have moved to respond on multiple fronts, including utility relief on Kauaʻi.
State Aid Available for Storm-Hit Farms
Farmers facing repeated losses like Seguin's need support.
Whether that support is enough to absorb repeated crop losses at farms like Seguin's remains an open question for Waiāhole's agricultural community. For now, the immediate need is hands in the mud — this weekend's cleanup, running both Saturday and Sunday starting at 9 a.m., is the farm's next step toward getting its water running and its fields planted again.
