Officials survey aftermath of Waihee River flood

The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Waihee resident Stan Naganuma (from left) and Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator Herman Andaya take photos of storm damage along Waihee River as Office of the Governor Administrative Assistant Ford Fuchigami looks on Saturday morning. During last week’s flooding, the river crested above where Fuchigami is standing and swept through the lower level of Naganuma’s home. Naganuma said the riverbank had extended about 10 feet to the left of where he and Andaya are standing in this photo, but the flood scoured the bank of soil and trees and left a pile of boulders in the middle of the river that now redirects the channel much closer to his house. Naganuma said he and wife Maureen were shopping at Office Max when they received an alert about flooding at Waihee. After “tearing” back home, they found the river was ready to crest its banks.

He went to check his neighbor’s yard and found the river had crested upstream and water was headed his way. As the water inundated his garage and downstairs office he tried to salvage what he could, but soon realized it was time to head for higher ground. “I was moving around in there,” Naganuma said. “It was up to my knees and I said, ‘That’s it. I’m done.'”

SECOND PHOTO: Maui Emergency Management Agency Administrator Herman Andaya surveys the flood damage to the home of Stan and Maureen Naganuma on Saturday morning.

THIRD PHOTO: Office of the Governor Administrative Assistant Ford Fuchigami checks on damage to the Naganuma home Saturday morning.

FOURTH PHOTO: Fuchigami (left) and county Managing Director Keith Regan (right) talk with Waihee resident Maureen Naganuma Saturday morning where a county water transmission line is buried beneath the river. In last week’s flooding, the Waihee River was higher than where they stand. The heavily eroded area in the right foreground had extended another 10 feet beyond where the river now flows. An ulu tree, kukui nut tree, clump of bamboo and other plants were swept away by the