By Bryce Moore

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Initial unemployment claims on Kauai jumped nearly eightfold after Hurricane Lowell, from 69 during the week of Saturday, Sept. 5 to 510 during the week of Saturday, Sept. 12.

One business casualty is the Stingray Tiki Bar at Lihue’s airport. The bartender said her last day is on Saturday, Sept. 19, but management first tried to close down with less than 24 hours’ notice.

“And so I had to get union involved. And so that’s why they extended it. They gave me a full seven-day notice,” said Alani Pineda. “Going to have to file for unemployment. We’ve got a lot of people here panicking.”

The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii said help is available for impacted businesses and employees and urged people to reach out.

“Go to our website COCHawaii.org for different resources as a result of these disasters. At the same time, we can connect with individuals to see what they can do to perhaps get re-skilled, retrained,” said Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii president and CEO Sherry Menor, “to see what opportunities are out there as a result of the loss of their positions.”

The Chamber of Commerce set up grant programs for the Kona Low storms, and Menor said officials are looking into creating similar initiatives for hurricanes Lala and Lowell.

“And there’s different criteria based on that. But it’s critical that they get their paperwork together,” she said.

The uncertainty cuts deep for many residents.

“The moment I could work when I turned 17, I was working. I’ve never not worked a day in my life,” Pineda said. ‘So, it’s a very unsure time, and I could apply to another restaurant job, but with things being as uncertain as they are, I’m not sure really what to do or where to go with this.”

State staff with the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations will be on site at two County hurricane resource centers to help with employment-related questions — one site is at the Hanalei Neighborhood Center on Monday, Sept. 21 and Tuesday, Sept. 22, as well as the Koloa Neighborhood Center on Wednesday, Sept. 23 and Thursday, Sept. 24.

“Catholic Charities Hawaii is grateful to be able to serve the community through the state’s Hawaii Relief Program. Through the program, we’ve recently seen a steady increase in applicants for housing and utility financial assistance. The inquiries began during the Kona Low Storms and have continued following Hurricanes Lala and Lowell,” said Catholic Charities Hawaii President and CEO Tina Andrade.

“While we have recently increased our staff to handle the number of calls, applicants should apply online through our website,” she added.

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