7 Missing After Hawaiian Dam Burst

One Known Dead After 1890s-Era Plantation Dam Failed

(CBS/AP)  An 1890s-era plantation dam failed in the rugged hills above northern Kauai, sending water and mud from a reservoir surging through two homes and wiping out the only highway. Searchers found one person dead and were looking for at least seven others, some of them children who hadn't been seen since the deluge.

A missing woman "was 7 months pregnant and they're supposed to be getting married Saturday and the families are flying in here for the wedding," neighbor Donna Apisa told CBS affiliate KGMB-TV.

The water crushed the family's house, sweeping away everything and everyone inside.

The continuing rain was hampering the search and road-clearing efforts, and officials were worried that other old earthen dams in the area may have been catastrophically weakened by days of heavy rain, state Sen. Gary L. Hooser said.

One dam in particular was in imminent danger of collapsing, Hooser told ABC's "Good Morning America." He said workers were trying to drain off the water behind it.

"It's still raining. I don't think it's over with. The entire island is kind of flooding in different parts," Hooser said Wednesday. "We're just hoping and praying for the rain to pass and the skies to clear and get on with the work of rebuilding the community."

The water cut off access to and from thousands of rural houses and luxury condominiums along Kauai's north shore.

"Sounded like a 747 jet crashing here in the valley, all the trees popping and snapping and everything," said John Hawthorne. "It was just a horrendous sound, and it never quit."

Search crews recovered the body of an unidentified man, and area residents said one family whose home was swept away was missing several children.

"To my knowledge, there was no warning whatsoever," Hooser said. "We're still hopeful that we'll find some of the missing."

Gov. Linda Lingle, who planned to tour the area Wednesday, extended state disaster programs and services Tuesday to the residents affected by recent rains and flooding. She also made loans available to people whose homes or businesses were damaged and authorized the use of National Guard troops to help with disaster relief.

Residents say they hadn't been warned about potential trouble about the reservoir, reports KGMB's Brooks Bayer. When the clean up is done and the grieving ends, residents will want answers to lots of questions.

Meanwhile, state officials were assessing the safety of other dams in the island's steep hills. Ed Teixeira, state vice director of civil defense, said officials were worried about erosion.