Towering flash floods and an imminent dam failure in the northern part of Oahu triggered mass rescues and evacuation warnings in Hawaii on Friday, as the state continued contending with a powerful storm this week.
The waters came on quickly in the middle of the night, and videos on social media captured inundated streets and cars being swallowed by the muddy flood waters.
More than 230 people were rescued as heavy rains pummeled the island of Oahu and triggered the worst flooding the island has had in 20 years, inflicting what the governor said could top $1bn in damage.
Water levels have been receding at the dam that authorities warned could fail, but that could change if more rain falls. In less than 24 hours, water at the dam went from 79ft (24 metres) to 84ft (25.6 metres) – just 6ft (1.8 metres) shy of what it can handle, authorities said.
No deaths were reported, and no one was unaccounted for, Hawaii’s governor, Josh Green, said at a news conference. About 10 people were taken to a hospital with hypothermia, he said.
Crew searched by air and water for people who had been stranded – efforts hampered by people flying drones to get images of the flooding, he said.
Dozens – if not hundreds – of homes had been damaged, but officials have not been able to fully assess the destruction, Honolulu’s mayor, Rick Blangiardi, said in a news conference. About 5,500 people were under evacuation orders.
“There’s no question that the damage done thus far has been catastrophic,” he said.
Blangiardi said officials felt confident in the stability of the dams on the island, but that it was hard to predict how much rain would come and what it might do.
Officials have been monitoring dam levels since a storm last week dumped heavy rain across the state, leading to catastrophic flooding that washed away roads and homes. Two people were seriously injured in that event – one in the neck and another in the head. A similar but weaker storm was forecast to bring more rain through this weekend.
“It’s going to be a very touch-and-go day,” Green said in a social media post.
Most of the state was under a flood watch, with Haleiwa and Waialua in northern Oahu under a flash flood warning, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
One shelter at Waialua High and Intermediate School was evacuated because of flooding, Ian Scheuring, a spokesperson for Honolulu, said. There were about 185 people and 50 pets there who needed to be bussed to another evacuation center, but by midday 54 people remained in the shelter.
Parts of Oahu received 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) of rain overnight, further saturating the ground after last weekend’s storm. Kaala, the island’s highest peak, got nearly 16 inches (40 cm) in the past day, NWS said.
Amy Perruso, a North Shore state representative, told Honolulu Civil Beat that emergency services were having trouble reaching people, and many residents’ vehicles were under water. “There’s no exit possibility for a lot of folks right now,” Perruso said.
The Honolulu emergency department said in the early hours of Friday: “If you are trapped, go to the highest level. Stay out of attics without a way to the roof.”
As she prepared to evacuate to a friend’s home on higher ground, Waialua resident Kathleen Pahinui told the Associated Press in a phone interview that the ageing dam was a concern every time it rained.
“Just pray for us,” she said. “We understand there’s more rain coming.”
In 2006, seven people were killed when the Ka Loko dam on the island of Kauai collapsed, and water rushed downhill.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
