Hawaii urges residents to ‘leave now’ amid worst flooding in over 20 years | Hawaii
As Hawaii experiences its worst flooding in more than 20 years, officials have urged people in the hardest-hit areas to “LEAVE IMMEDIATELY.” The warning, issued early Saturday, came after heavy rains fell on soil already saturated from a winter storm a week ago, with more expected over the weekend.
Muddy floodwaters covered large swaths of Oahu’s North Shore, known for big-wave surfing. Raging waters submerged homes and cars and prompted evacuation orders for 5,500 people north of Honolulu. Officials warned that the 120-year-old dam could collapse.
“If rain continues, Waialua’s remaining access road will be at high risk of failure,” the emergency alert stated.
On the island of Maui, officials changed the evacuation warning to a warning for parts of Lahaina, which was hit by a deadly wildfire in 2023 as storage basins approached capacity.
North Shore Oahu residents who had not evacuated were encouraged by morning waters receding and blue skies, but more rain was on the way.
“Don’t let your guard down yet,” said Tina Stall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu. “There is still potential for further flood impacts.”
Racquel Achiu, a Waialua farmer who stayed to care for her animals, found her goats knee-deep in water Thursday night, and an hour later seven of her family’s dogs were in danger of drowning in a high kennel. His nephew and son-in-law ran into chest-deep water to save them.
“My dogs’ heads were literally sticking out of the water,” Achiu said. “There was so much water, I can’t describe it.”
Gov. Josh Green said the cost of the storm could reach $1 billion, including damage to airports, schools, roads, homes and the Maui hospital in Kula.
“This will have very serious consequences for us as a state,” Green said at a press conference. He also said his chief of staff had met with the White House and received assurances of federal support.
Green said the flood was the most serious flooding in the state since 2004, when homes and the University of Hawaii library were submerged.
Dozens and perhaps hundreds of homes were damaged, but authorities have yet to fully assess the devastation. Approximately 5,500 people were under evacuation orders.
Authorities blamed some of the destruction on the amount of rain that fell on saturated land in a short period of time. The National Weather Service said parts of Oahu received 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm).
Authorities said more than 200 people were rescued from the rising waters, but no deaths were reported and no one was heard from. The teams searched for the stranded people by air and sea.
Winter storm systems known as “Kona lows,” in which winds blowing from the south or southwest bring moisture-laden air, were responsible for the flooding over the past two weeks. Experts say the intensity and frequency of heavy rains in Hawaii are increasing due to human-caused global warming.
Authorities have been closely monitoring the Wahiawa dam, which has been vulnerable for decades, and say it “faces imminent risk of failure.”
Water levels at the dam on the island of Oahu, about 18 miles northwest of Honolulu, dropped late Friday and then rose again as rain fell overnight.
But Molly Pierce, a spokeswoman for Oahu’s emergency management department, said the next morning that the dam appeared to be less of a concern than the “breadth of hazardous conditions” islandwide.
It noted serious flooding, including in residential areas of Honolulu.
“We’re seeing the water receding in many places, but again, with this saturation, even the smallest amount of water can bring these ragers back to their feet,” Pierce said. “So even if the sky is blue where you are, I think we all know in Hawaii that if it’s raining on the mountain, it’s soon going to rain on you.”
