Low-pressure system floods low-lying areas

Article Photos

The Maui News and The Associated Press

A Kona storm dumped as much as 3 inches of rain in Maui County on Thursday, flooding low-lying areas, knocking out power to hundreds, shuttering parks, and soaking students and bus riders caught in the squalls.

Oahu appeared to bear the brunt of the storm, with reports of flooded homes and roads, at least one rockslide and power out to nearly 14,000 residents. No injuries were reported.

Heavy clouds were pulled in from the tropics by a Kona low, a low-pressure system located about 600 miles northwest of Kauai that was moving slowly northward and pulling the bulk of the moisture across Oahu.

On Maui, the wet weather brought rising waters to the doorstep of Kihei resident Jeremy Peterson's Uluniu Road residence. The situation on Thursday morning dredged up memories of the heavy flooding a year ago that caused $100,000 in damage to to the home Peterson, 31, shares with his wife and 2-year-old son.

"Right now it's coming down," he said. "It's pouring . . . Compared with a year ago, it's not quite as bad, but it's pretty gnarly."

Peterson said flooding problems were aggravated by an inadequate county storm drain that crews clean out periodically.

"The county knows it doesn't work," he said, maintaining that a better fix would be to install a pump that residents could use during storms. Peterson rented a pump for $300 a day to send water away from his residence.

"It's pretty cool that now all the water is flowing down the street," he said.

County spokeswoman Mahina Martin said county crews were kept busy Thursday responding to and monitoring flooding in low-lying areas of Kahului and South Maui.

Crews are familiar with areas that flood during heavy rains and respond with portable pump equipment. They also take preventive action, such as clearing out channel outlets in low-lying areas that become blocked with sand brought in by tides, she said.

The county uses mobile pumps that can be taken to different areas when needed, Martin said.

With a flash-flood warning posted Thursday afternoon for Oahu and Molokai, the Kamalo rain gauge recorded 1.75 inches over 12 hours, and more than an inch of rain over a three-hour period ending at 2 p.m. Floodwaters made a portion of Kamehameha V Highway impassable, forcing public school officials to keep students on school campuses until the road was passable.

On Maui, there were numerous reports of flooding on streets, but the number of collisions wasn't significantly different from other days, said police Lt. Bobby Hill, commander of the Traffic Section.

"Because of the conditions, people are slowing down," he said. "We don't have any real tie-ups."

In some cases, he said, police officers had to slow down themselves while responding to calls of crashes.

On Haleakala Highway, storm drains in the median of the newly widened highway were blocked, causing rocks and mud to wash out over the roadway.

Maui Electric Co. crews were responding throughout the day to power outages caused by trees and debris caught in power lines and electrical equipment, spokeswoman Kau'i Awai-Dickson said.

Overall, 350 customers countywide were affected by power outages, she said. Small pockets of customers in Lahaina, Kula and Hana had electrical service interrupted, with outages ranging from only momentary to as long as three hours. The Kalaupapa settlement was without power for about three hours Thursday morning, and Lanai Airport and surrounding businesses also had a three-hour outage caused by broken equipment, Awai-Dickson said.

Iao Valley State Park, Halekii-Pihana heiau and Makena State Park were closed Thursday. Because of high winds and potential rain, state parks officials advised people against camping at Waianapanapa and Polipoli state parks.

The county's Waiehu Golf Course closed at around 11 a.m. County parks officials said it would reopen when flooding subsides.

At the Wal-Mart store in Kahului, the roof leaked in at least a half-dozen areas Thursday afternoon. Store employees cordoned off areas with yellow tape and posted signs warning customers about slippery floors.

Maui small boat harbors reported a significant surge, but all vessels were secure and there were no reports of damage to any vessel or harbor facilities, state officials said.

With the rains carried in on a Kona low, some of the heaviest showers were on normally drier leeward areas. For the 24-hour period ending at 5 p.m., Kihei recorded 2.25 inches while Lahainaluna had 2.11 inches and Waikapu reported 2.92 inches. Central Kahoolawe recorded 3.39 inches, while the rain gauge in west Lanai showed 1.89 inches.

In key Maui watersheds, Puu Kukui in West Maui received 3.77 inches, but West Wailua Iki in the East Maui watershed recorded just 1.88 inches. Kahului Airport reported 2.18 inches; the Wailuku gauge was out of service.

While locally heavy showers were anticipated to continue through Thursday night, rainy weather was expected to taper off today, said Glenn James, senior weather analyst with the Pacific Disaster Center.

But into the middle of next week, on-and-off wet weather was forecast to continue, he said.

"We're not expecting any kind of significant clearing. . . . The trade winds aren't going to be coming back any time soon," he said.

With winds expected to continue to be out of the southeast today and into the weekend, volcanic haze is forecast to dominate island skies for a while, he said.

On Oahu on Thursday, homes were reported flooded in Waianae, Mililani and Laie.

A dispatcher with the Honolulu Police Department said the highway at Waiahole and Sacred Falls was impassable and water was running over the bridge on the Kamehameha Highway at Pipilani. A rockslide also was reported in central Oahu.

Hawaiian Electric Co. said about 13,900 customers in the leeward and windward areas of Oahu lost power. Power was restored to all but 1,100 by 4:30 p.m.

Heavy rain of 3 to 4 inches per hour was reported in several areas, with an islandwide flash-flood warning posted. Makaha Stream in Leeward Oahu recorded a massive 11.81 inches, while the Makua Ridge had 7.8 inches of rain.

But the heaviest rainfall was in Central Oahu, with 14.07 inches at Kaukonahua Stream in Wahiawa and 12.79 inches recorded at Schofield Barracks. The rains caused a wastewater treatment plant at Schofield Barracks to overflow, resulting in some 675,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater being discharged into Kaukonahua Stream.

About 40,000 gallons of untreated wastewater spilled from Marine Corps Base Hawaii into Kaneohe Bay. Base officials notified the state Health Department, and warning signs were posted.

The state issued a brown water advisory for all islands, warning residents to stay out of streams and coastal waters that have turned murky or brown. Storm runoff waters may contain chemical pollutants or harmful microorganisms from overflowing cesspools or septic tanks, the Health Department said.