Since our IHC home suffered no structural damage in the violent Hurricane Iniki, we know our decision to build an IHC home was the right one. Over a three year period we talked with and examined various companies producing home packages. They all had pretty pictures and drawings. They all, to some degree, had good stories to tell. At design time, we selected IHC.
We were a self builder, but if you were to ask us we would strongly suggest a contractor. The shipping of the containers and the contents were all that we had hoped for. The office and factory worked with us and for us, all the way through to completion. We are thrilled with the house. My wife and daughter love it. After 17 months of sunshine and enjoyment the air raid warning system went off at 5:00 a.m. on September 11th when it was still dark outside. We knew the chilling terror of that siren was most ominous. Was it a Tsunami from an earthquake or was it a hurricane? It was Hurricane Iniki!
A Patrol car drove from house to house. An officer with a bull horn shouted at us to evacuate immediately and head for high ground. The Princeville Hotel was designated as the nearest shelter. My wife looked at me and asked “what shall we do? ” I said, ” well, we built it and I think it will do just fine.” We each went to the living room and settled in our recliners and pushed back to watch Mother Nature’s show.
Before the officials turned off the island power we heard on the radio that the storm would hit the Island at 1:00 p.m. As predicted, the storm struck swiftly at 1:00 p.m. coming at us from the east. The torrential rains and savage winds of 165 mph and gusts of 180 mph lasted 4 hours, that is until 5:00 p.m., then an amazing calm took place. During this time some people were observed out in their yards surveying the damage. I got out the chain saw and was trying to make some cuts in a large bread fruit tree smothering and blocking our back stair steps……..But it was futile and the wind started to come up again, so back to our recliners!
At 6:00 p.m. sharp the second half started, only this time the winds came from the west. The first half had been terrifying. The power of the wind defied all imagination and destruction was unbelievable. The second half was even worse. Whole roofs, entire houses, and full sized trees were singing along in the jet stream like so many DC 10’s landing at the Los Angeles airport. Then after four more hours that part of the show ended. Calm air and quiet enveloped the entire land. Destruction was complete. Combat veterans all agreed that they had not seen anything similar since the battlefield after a heavy fire fight. The IHC design stood the ultimate test with steel and iron brackets holding it all together and 3M 5230 adhesive locking walls and corners. We had no structural damage. In contrast, many homes costing at least twice as much and those built by licensed contractors are down or uninhabitable.
On September 14th the Missile Tracking Station, a NASA installation on our Island, found one of its sensitive wind measurement devices where it had blown away with the reading pegged at 220 mph. Princeville has 279 homes destroyed, 366 with major damage and 528 with minor damage. Island damage assessment shows 1,421 homes destroyed with 5,152 having major damage and 7,178 with minor damage. This does not include condominiums or apartments.
Being a self-builder has given us much pride in showing people our house held together. And now, since so many homes are gone, there is much interest in any home that is intact. When you have a customer that wants more evidence as to quality, have them call Fred and Bettie Kellie in Kauai. We can testify to the quality of our IHC home. It held up to a very devastating storm and kept us safe and sound.