After the strongest storm in a generation, Hawai’i residents take recovery into their own hands – in pictures

On Kauai, neighbors repair each other's roofs, teens deliver meals and locals use their own equipment to clear roads

It was a few hours after the sun rose over the verdant valleys and clear waters of Hena on Kauai's North Shore. Michael Olanolan was already in his excavator, clearing the main highway where a wall of fallen trees had blocked access. Other neighbors joined him, moving debris so electric crews could reach utility poles downed by Hurricane Lowell.

The 76-year-old father of nine and grandfather of 26 did this every day for weeks after Lowell hit the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Niihau on 7 September. His generational home lost part of its roof to Lowell's winds, but family and friends helped him repair it, freeing him up to also help his community. Clearing out roadways became his full-time job while residents were getting back on their feet.