HILO AND OTHER COMMUNITIES on the east side of the Big Island suffered a double whammy of disasters in 2018. In May, 2,000 residents were sent fleeing from earthquakes and a major lava flow from Kilauea’s eastern rift zone. Then, in August, the area was brushed by Hurricane Lane and inundated with 18 inches of rain in a 24-hour period. It was the wettest storm in Hawaii’s recorded history and caused damaging floods and landslides. Last June, the Arbor Day…
