Hawaii Real Estate Experts

It's been one month since the first major storm swept through Maui, and Kihei has been working hard to recover. Since that initial event, the island has seen several additional storms — yet the cleanup and repair progress along South Kihei Road has been remarkable, if uneven. I took my drone up on April 14, 2026 to document what's changed across three of the hardest-hit locations, comparing the footage side-by-side with what I captured on March 15.

Here's what we found.

Location 1: Sugar Beach — North Kihei

We started our drone tour at the far north end of Kihei, in the Sugar Beach area. The before footage from March 15 shows a section of road that had completely collapsed and was structurally undermined by floodwaters. One month later, that section has been backfilled and traffic is moving again.

The entire stretch of South Kihei Road leading up to North Kihei Road was buried under mud and completely inaccessible right after the storm. That mud has now been cleared. Flying past the Malaya Surf Vacation condos and Kihei Kai — the building that actually collapsed into the ocean following the storm — the road below is open and operational.

Flying past Sugar Beach Resort in this segment, it was also hard to miss how green the West Maui Mountains looked in the distance. Maui had been experiencing drought-like conditions for years before these storms arrived. The lush green hillsides are a silver lining most of us haven't seen in a long time.

Location 2: Mid-Kihei — Around the Hilton Grand Vacations Club

Moving south along South Kihei Road, we captured two separate drone passes over the mid-Kihei section — one heading in each direction — to get a complete picture of the corridor. Both the March and April footage tell a clear story of improvement.

Flying past the Hilton Grand Vacations Club Maui Bay Villas on the right, you can see that the road is clear on both sides. The inland condos along this stretch include Kihei Bay Vista and Kihei Bay Surf, while Menehune Shores occupies the ocean side — a distinctive mid-rise building visible in both clips. Flying the opposite direction, Koa Lagoon sits oceanside with Koa Resort and Kihei Resort on the inland side.

This section of Kihei appears to be among the most restored, with road access and the surrounding community largely back to normal conditions.

Location 3: South Kihei — The Hardest-Hit Zone

The South Kihei section tells a different story. The before footage from March 18, 2026 shows less surface mud than other areas — but a large section of the road had collapsed due to intense runoff, and the damage extended well below the pavement. One month later, the visible changes here are more modest.

That's not a sign of neglect. This area sustained some of the most severe infrastructure damage on the entire South Kihei corridor, and subsurface repairs simply take more time and resources. The slower visible progress reflects the complexity of the work, not the pace of effort.

"Overall, the progress is pretty good for one month — especially given that several additional storms have hit Maui in the weeks since the first one."

The Bigger Picture: What This Means for Kihei Real Estate

From a real estate perspective, this footage tells an important story. The core of Kihei's coastal corridor — from Sugar Beach down through the Hilton and Menehune Shores area — has recovered remarkably well in 30 days. Traffic is moving, access is restored, and the condo complexes along South Kihei Road are largely accessible again.

The South Kihei damage zone will require more time and investment, and buyers and owners in that micro-area should continue to monitor repair timelines closely.

There's also a larger question worth asking: if Kihei has made this level of progress in one month, why is Front Street in Lahaina still largely unrestored? The contrast between these two recovery timelines deserves more public attention — and it's something we'll continue to cover.