Hawaii’s worst flooding in 20 years threatens dam, prompts evacuations

HONOLULU, March 22, (AP): Hawaii officials urged people in hard-hit areas to evacuate Saturday due to the state's worst flooding in more than 20 years, after heavy rains fell on soil already saturated by downpours from a winter storm a week ago with still more expected over the weekend. Muddy floodwaters smothered vast stretches of Oahu's North Shore, 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. "Don’t let your guard down just yet,” said Tina Stall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu, "there’s still potential for more flooding impacts.”

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.

"My dogs' heads were literally just sticking out of the water,” Achiu recalled. "There was so much water, I cannot even express.” 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.

"This is going to have a very serious consequence for us as a state,” Green said at a news conference. He also said his chief of staff spoke to the White House and received assurances of federal support.

Green said the flooding was the state’s 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.