A Kauai firefighter worked through Hurricane Lowell rescuing others while floodwaters tore through his own Wainiha property — a hard story for North Shore families, but one showing a community pulling together.

• Elijah Frank took overtime calls the night of the storm while his wife and four kids rode out flooding at home.
• Floodwaters pushed rocks up the bank and swamped the first floor of his house and the rental next door.
• Crews were cut off by chest-deep water and fallen trees, using surfboards and chainsaws to reach a family that had called for help.
• Power and cell service were down for hours; he only reached his wife at 3 a.m. through a nonprofit's Starlink connection.
• The family lost everything in Kauai's 2018 flood, and damage this time runs around $20,000.

Outlook: Wainiha faces a long cleanup, with neighbors and a donation drive carrying much of the rebuilding cost.