Former Front Royal residents weather another storm in Hawaii

Ron and Sandi Mabry, the Front Royal couple who recently moved house to the Hawaiian Islands, arrived in time to experience storms, floods and one of the biggest volcanic eruptions in recent history during 2018.

With the remnants of August’s Hurricane Lane behind them, they’re taking a breather and experiencing the typical Hawaiian weather of sunshine and gentle breezes that island residents enjoy.

With everything that’s hit the islands this year, beginning in April, up to 28 inches of rain in 24 hours on the Mabry’s island of Kauai, the Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii, then the recent  hurricane-induced three days of heavy downpours on Kauai, Mabry said residents are looking for a respite.

“We were prepared for a direct or close hit (by Hurricane Lane) here on Kauai, window boards in place, hurricane kit fully stocked and all outside items secured,” Mabry said.

“Thankfully we were spared any damage.”

Hurricane Lane, one of the biggest Pacific storms in years, veered from its course through the islands. Hardest hit was the Big Island with about 50 inches of rain over a five-day period. At about the same time, the volcano, which destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses on Hawaii, began tapering off. In its wake, Hurricane Lane left serious flooding on Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Kauai and Oahu, where Honolulu is situated.

In the April monsoon, Mabry, 65, a founding member of the Warren County Rotary Club, was active in helping local Rotarians assist besieged neighbors when an unanticipated storm hit the northern part of Kauai, causing more than $33 million in damage. He and Sandi live on the island’s south coast.

Ron Mabry is a retired director of finance for the Town of Culpeper while wife Sandi, a nurse practitioner, was once part of the Front Royal Family Practice. She is well remembered in Front Royal for her work with wounded veterans, a service she continues to pursue in the islands.

(Malcolm Barr, a former resident of Hawaii, experienced a hurricane called “Ewa” (pronounced “Eva”) in the 1980s. “Scary,” he recalls).