Hawaii’s Housing Fragility: Understanding the Aftermath the Maui Wildfires 3 Years Later—and What’s To Come With Hurricane Karina

Hurricane Karina strengthened Monday into a powerful Category 4 storm in the Pacific Ocean, alongside Tropical Storm Lowell expected to reach hurricane strength by Wednesday.While still very uncertain, the potential for Lowell and Karina to reach the vicinity of the state by Labor Day weekend is increasing, according to the National Weather Service area forecast discussion for Hawaii.This latest news of extreme weather plaguing the isaldn comes as new research from the University of Hawai’i Economic Research Organization (UHERO) shows that three years after the devastating wildfires in Maui, HI, a third of affected households are still without permanent housing. And just days after the three-year anniversary of the fires, Hawai’i dealt with additional flooding and damage from Tropical Storm Lala—a grim reminder that disaster is often not far over the horizon for area residents. Daniela Bond-Smith, a research economist at UHERO and one of the report's authors, has spent the past two years tracking the local recovery from the 2023 fires. She says her data tells a mixed story."It's a very uneven recovery. We have households, families who have been able to find a footing and move on wi...