Hawaii Army National Guardsmen and members of the U.S. Coast Guard unload supplies from an HC-130 Hercules aircraft in Hilo, Hawaii, on Sept. 25, 2026, in preparation for Hurricane Nolo. (U.S. Coast Guard)
Hawaii National Guard crews rescued 19 people during five missions on the Big Island as flooding from Hurricane Nolo swept across parts of the state over the weekend.
The rescues took place Saturday after the Guard positioned more than 450 soldiers and airmen statewide ahead of the storm, according to a Guard news release Tuesday.
Nolo passed close to Hawaii Island as a Category 1 hurricane without making landfall and dumped 10 to 20 inches of rain across the island over the weekend. The storm later sharply turned away from Hawaii and strengthened to a Category 4 on Sunday.
About 120 soldiers and airmen assigned to Task Force Hawaii were prepared to assist local authorities on the Big Island, including six teams equipped with high-water vehicles, according to the news release.
The Guard teams rescued 19 people stranded by flooding Saturday and took them to a shelter in Naalehu on the southeast tip of the island, the release said.
The teams use reconfigured combat vehicles with chassis high enough to pass through water more than a yard deep.
“This is exactly why we posture our personnel and equipment before a storm arrives,” Maj. Gen. Stephen Logan, Hawaii adjutant general, said in the release.
“Our soldiers and airmen were ready to move when the call came — and they were quickly able to help get people out of dangerous conditions and to a safe location,” he said.
This year has been a busy one for the high-water vehicle teams and other emergency responders, as a series of storms have drenched the state, with high winds sometimes leaving thousands without power.
In August, Hurricane Lala passed closely to Hawaii Island, bringing tropical-storm-force winds, heavy rain and flash flooding.
In early September, Hurricane Lowell reached Category 5 intensity before tracking past the state as a Category 2. It caused widespread power outages and hit the island of Kauai particularly hard.
In March, the state experienced back-to-back Kona Low storms, during which a low-pressure subtropical cyclone pushes moisture toward the leeward side of the islands.
The first storm dropped 8 to 20 inches of rain on parts of Oahu, Maui and Kauai. Strong winds left more than 100,000 customers without electricity at one point.
That pair of storms resulted in statewide damage of more than $1 billion.
