HONOLULU (AP) 鈥� Hawaii officials urged people in hard-hit areas to evacuate Saturday due to the state’s worst flooding in more than 20 years, after on soil already saturated by downpours from with still more expected over the weekend.
Muddy floodwaters smothered vast stretches of , a community world-renowned for its big-wave surfing. Raging waters lifted homes and cars and prompted evacuation orders for 5,500 people north of Honolulu, though they were later lifted. Authorities cautioned that a 120-year-old dam could fail.
On the island of Maui, authorities upgraded an evacuation advisory to a warning for some parts of Lahaina, which is still reeling from a deadly 2023 wildfire, because of retention basins nearing capacity.
North Shore Oahu residents who did not evacuate were heartened in the morning by receding waters and moments of blue skies, but more rain was on the way.
鈥淒on鈥檛 let your guard down just yet,鈥� said Tina Stall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu, 鈥渢here鈥檚 still potential for more flooding impacts.鈥�
Racquel Achiu, a Waialua farmer who stayed to care for her livestock, found her goats in knee-high water Thursday night, and an hour later, her family’s seven dogs were in danger of drowning in an elevated kennel. Her nephew and son-in-law rushed out into chest-high water to save them.
鈥淢y dogs’ heads were literally just sticking out of the water,鈥� Achiu recalled.
鈥淭here was so much water, I cannot even express.鈥�
Gov. Josh Green said the cost of the storm could top $1 billion, including damage to airports, schools, roads, homes and a Maui hospital in Kula.
鈥淭his is going to have a very serious consequence for us as a state,鈥� Green said at a news conference. He also said his chief of staff spoke to the White House and received assurances of federal support.
Worst flooding in over 2 decades
Green said the flooding was the state鈥檚 most serious since 2004, when homes and a University of Hawaii library were swamped.
Dozens and perhaps hundreds of homes have been damaged, but officials have yet to fully assess the destruction.
Officials blamed some of the devastation on the sheer amount of rain that fell in a short amount of time on saturated land. Parts of Oahu received 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm), the National Weather Service said.
More than 200 people were rescued from the rising waters, authorities said, but no deaths were reported and no one was unaccounted for. Crews searched by air and by water for stranded people.
The National Guard and Honolulu Fire Department airlifted 72 children and adults from a spring break youth camp at a retreat on Oahu鈥檚 west coast called Our Lady of Kea鈥檃u, city officials said. The camp is on high ground, but authorities did not want to leave them there, the mayor said.
Winter storm systems known as 鈥淜ona lows,鈥� which feature southerly or southwesterly winds that bring in moisture-laden air, have been responsible for the deluges in the past two weeks. The of heavy rains in Hawaii have increased amid human-caused global warming, experts say.
Eyes on an aging dam
Officials have been closely watching the Wahiawa dam, which has been vulnerable for decades, saying it was 鈥渁t risk of imminent failure.鈥�
Water levels in the dam about 17 miles (28 kilometers) northwest of Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, receded by late Friday and then went up again with overnight rain.
However the dam appeared to be less of a concern the following morning than the 鈥渂readth of hazardous conditions鈥� across the island, said Molly Pierce, a spokesperson for Oahu’s Department of Emergency Management.
She noted substantial flooding including in residential parts of Honolulu.
鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing the waters receding in a lot of places, but again with that saturation, just the smallest amount of water can bring those raging back up,鈥� Pierce said. 鈥淪o even if it鈥檚 blue skies where you are, I think we all know in Hawaii that if rain is falling on the mountain, it鈥檚 coming to you soon enough.鈥�
Kathleen Pahinui evacuated her Waialua home early Friday because of the dam danger.
鈥淗opefully if we make it through today, then tomorrow will dawn bright and sunny,鈥� she said Saturday. 鈥淎nd then everyone can start moving slowly back in, and we can start to resume normal and start cleaning up and helping our neighbors.鈥�
The Wahiawa dam, an earthen structure, was built in 1906 to increase sugar production for the Waialua Agricultural Company, which eventually became a subsidiary of Dole Food Company. It was reconstructed following a collapse in 1921.
The state has said Wahiawa dam has 鈥渉igh hazard potential鈥� and a failure 鈥渨ill result in probable loss of human life.鈥�
It has sent Dole four notices of deficiency about the dam since 2009, and five years ago it fined the company $20,000 for failing to address safety deficiencies on time, according to records.
Afterward, Dole proposed to donate the dam, reservoir and ditch system to the state in exchange for an agreement to repair the spillway to meet and maintain dam safety standards.
鈥淭he dam continues to operate as designed with no indications of damage,鈥� Dole said in a statement.
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Associated Press writer Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
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