When disaster strikes, who better to come to the rescue than Laird Hamilton? And when the island of Kauai (where Hamilton calls home) was hit with catastrophic rains and flooding over the weekend, he sprung into action.
Pro surfer Lelia Hurst was hosting 15 girls for a sleepover event during the weekend and Hamilton came to the rescue when the girls became stranded.
As Hurst said on Instagram, “Thank you to the man @lairdhamiltonsurf you absolute animal! Saving 15 little GIRLS! Are you kidding me?”
Rescue efforts on Kauai continued through Monday and will continue today. As Hawaii News Now points out, “More than 220 people have been airlifted out of the Haena and Wainiha areas alone and taken to the Kilauea gym. And scores more were flown out of other neighboring communities, while some 121 people were evacuated by bus or by water.”
Dozens of northern Kauai homes and businesses have been damaged and/or destroyed in the 28.15 inches of rain over the 24-hour period this past weekend. Rescuers and volunteers are currently focusing on those stranded due to landslides or closed roads, and the true extent of the damage is still unknown at the moment.
A GoFundMe campaign has been started to raise funds to help with rescue and relief efforts in the Hanalei/Haena area.
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