Portable generators appear to be in short supply on Hawai'i's Big Island as residents continue recovering from Tropical Storm Lala.
A local Reddit discussion highlighted the problem after a resident reported that their generator stopped working during the blackout.
Here's what to know
The thread began with the original poster asking, "Curious if anyone has seen what the local stock is looking like at HD and/or Lowe's, I'm assuming most everything is wiped clean."
"Our power is back on now,' they added, "but our generator quit working on Sunday."
Replies that followed largely backed that concern, with several users pointing to scarce inventory across the island.
Some residents said ordering for delivery was the only realistic option. One person said they had previously bought a generator from Walmart and had it shipped directly to their home, while another wrote, "I saw a FB thread that tracked stock across the island and currently it shows everything sold out until next containers arrive. So I just ordered one from Costco that says delivery is next week."
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The conversation also included a request for restraint from anyone already back online: "But also, if you have power, please wait to buy one because a lot of us still don't have power."
More background
Extreme weather can quickly strain everyday necessities, especially in places where replacement goods depend on shipping schedules. When a storm knocks out electricity, generators can become crucial for keeping refrigerators cold, powering water pumps, preserving medication, and maintaining basic communication and safety.
Worsening extreme weather disasters endanger lives and livelihoods by simultaneously disrupting power, transportation, and supply chains. That can create immediate public health risks, threaten community safety for families still in the dark, and add financial pressure for households already dealing with spoiled food, emergency purchases, repairs, and missed work.
On islands, those vulnerabilities can be even more pronounced. If local inventory sells out, residents may have to wait for the next shipment rather than simply drive to another town or a neighboring county.
What can be done?
The Reddit thread suggested that some people were already planning for the next emergency, using this outage as a reason to secure backup power now instead of facing another last-minute search before a future storm.
A commenter who had ordered through Walmart said the first unit had "quality issues," while the replacement "has been amazing."
Overall, residents were pooling updates from stores, Facebook posts, and one another to determine when inventory might be back in stock.
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