Huliheʻe Palace Staff Shields Historic Royal Site from Punishing Kona Storm

When government officials began issuing dire weather warnings about torrential rainstorms and pounding high tides bearing down on Kailua-Kona, Manu Powers did not wait. The regent of Daughters of Hawaiʻi sprang into action, starting Monday to make calls and line up the work necessary to protect Huliheʻe Palace, the 1838 shorefront manor that stands as America's oldest surviving royal residence.

Staff at the palace have been on high alert for days as the Kona storm's heavy rain and winds approach the Big Island. The mansion, built from lava rock, sits in a particularly exposed position: surrounded by broad green lawns, it overlooks Kailua Bay directly off Ali'i Drive, leaving it vulnerable to both the sea surging landward and the sky opening overhead.

Daughters of Hawaiʻi, the nonprofit that manages and stewards the palace, exists specifically to promote and preserve Hawaiʻi's royal legacy. That mission takes on urgent, physical stakes during storms like this one. Powers is well aware the threat does not begin and end with any single weather system. The property faces perennial risk from coastal erosion and sea level rise, and severe weather amplifies the potential for lasting damage to a structure nearly two centuries old.

The specific protective measures being implemented have not been detailed publicly, but the scope of preparations required to safeguard a 19th-century lava-rock coastal manor from torrential rain and high tides is considerable. What remains at risk is not just a historic building but an irreplaceable anchor of Hawaiian royal heritage sitting at the edge of Kailua Bay.