Severe storms, the worst in 20 years, impact the Aloha state.
By Associated Press
HONOLULU — Hawaii officials urged people in hard-hit areas to evacuate March 21 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.
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.
Green said the flooding was the state’s most serious since 2004, when homes and a University of Hawaii library were swamped.
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 8-12 inches (20-30 cm), the National Weather Service said.
More than 200 people were rescued from the rising waters, authorities said, but no deaths were reported.
Winter storm systems known as “Kona lows,” which feature southerly or southwesterly winds that bring in moisture-laden air, have been responsible for the deluges in the past two weeks. The intensity and frequency of heavy rains in Hawaii have increased amid human-caused global warming, experts say.
“We’re seeing the waters receding in a lot of places, but again with that saturation, just the smallest amount of water can bring those raging back up,” said Molly Pierce, a spokesperson for Oahu’s Department of Emergency Management.
