Hurricane Lane's Hawaii Strike Reminds Locals of 1992's Iniki

For many Hawaii residents who have lived on the islands for more than two decades, trips to pick up emergency supplies ahead of a hurricane are rare. So few tropical systems hit the nation's 50th state that each one is hard to forget.

This is especially the case with Hurricane Iniki, a Category 4 hurricane during its Sept. 11, 1992 landfall on the island of Kauai. Responsible for destroying nearly 1,500 structures and causing about $3 billion in damage, the monster storm left a lasting impact on many of the state's residents – one that remains today.

"When it did happen, I just remember, pandemonium, it was all out craziness," Maui resident Napua Puaoi told the Associated Press.

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"The problem is once everything is all said and done, this type of magnitude, of this type of distraction, takes years and years and years and years to recover," Dickie Chang, who worked in Kauai during Iniki, told KHON-TV during the 25th anniversary last year.

This time, residents who survived Iniki said they're taking Lane seriously, because although it's rare, they know what a hurricane can do to Hawaii.

"We're planning on boarding up all our windows and sliding doors," Puaoi told the AP. "As soon as my husband comes home – he has all the power tools."