A Hawaii man narrowly survived after floodwaters from Hurricane Lowell swept away his home and left him stranded in a river for around eight hours. Trent Parke, 47, a tattoo artist living in Wainiha, Kauai, had taken precautions before the storm hit on 7 September, moving belongings to higher ground, but was forced to swim back to his property when the river surged unexpectedly around him.

As the water kept rising, Parke climbed onto his deck roof, about 16ft above the ground, before his house began breaking apart around him. He clung to a hau bush and floating branches as his home floated past him and was eventually carried 30 to 50 yards downstream, at one point being knocked underwater after hitting a log. He fought off hypothermia until around 4am, when he encountered four other survivors, and is now staying with neighbours while trying to rebuild his life, having launched a GoFundMe page after losing his home entirely.