More than 230 rescued amid Hawaii flooding, thousands without power

More than 2,000 people remained without power Sunday afternoon after Hawaii suffered its worst flooding in more than 20 years when heavy rains fell across the islands.

Heavy rains fell on soil already saturated by downpours from a winter storm a week ago. Raging waters lifted homes and cars, causing an expected $1 billion in damages. The storm prompted evacuation orders for 5,500 people north of Honolulu — though they were later lifted — and more than 200 people were rescued from the rising waters. No deaths had been reported as Sunday afternoon, Molly Pierce, spokesperson for Oahu's Department of Emergency Management, said.

By Sunday afternoon, Hawaiian Electric restored power to about 1,200 people in Waialua on the North Shore of O'ahu, according to the company. Customers' power was proactively turned off Friday because of the flooding.

Crews continue to assess the damage and make repairs, and Hawaiian Electric expects to return power to 2,000 more people later Sunday. On Maui, which is still reeling from a deadly 2023 wildfire, about 100 people were without power Sunday afternoon. All major outages were addressed on Hawai'i Island, according to the company.

The worst of the storms appear to be over, Hawaii meteorologist Matthew Foster told The Associated Press. 

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.

Gov. Josh Green said the cost of the storm could top $1 billion, including damage to airports, schools, roads, people's 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.

Worst flooding in over 2 decades

Green said the flooding was the state's most serious since the 2004 floods in Manoa inundated homes and a University of Hawaii library.

"In some places in our state, we've had between 40 and 50 inches of rain," Green said in a video update posted to social media Saturday morning local time.  

Dozens — if not hundreds — of homes were damaged Friday, but officials haven't been able to assess the destruction fully, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said. There were over 233 rescues so far, Blangiardi said. 

"There's no question that the damage done thus far has been catastrophic," he said.

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, the National Weather Service said. Kaala, the island's highest peak, got nearly 16 inches in the past day, according to the agency.

There were over 233 rescues so far, Blangiardi said. About 10 people were taken to a hospital with hypothermia, he said.

Crews searched by air and by water for people who had been stranded — efforts that were hampered by people flying personal drones to get images of the flooding, said Ian Scheuring, a spokesperson for Honolulu.

The National Guard and Honolulu Fire Department airlifted 72 children and adults who had been attending a spring break youth camp at a retreat on Oahu's west coast called Our Lady of Kea'au, according to city and camp officials.

Winter storm systems known as "Kona lows," which feature southerly or southwesterly winds that bring in moisture-laden air, were 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.

Eyes on an aging dam

Officials have been closely watching the Wahiawa dam, which has been vulnerable for decades, saying it was "at risk of imminent failure."

Water levels in the dam — about 17 miles northwest of Honolulu, on the island of Oahu — receded by late Friday. The dam appeared to be less of a concern the following morning than the "breadth of hazardous conditions" across the island, said Pierce.

She noted substantial flooding, including in residential parts of Honolulu.

"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," Pierce said. "So even if it's blue skies where you are, I think we all know in Hawaii that if rain is falling on the mountain, it's coming to you soon enough."

Overnight into Friday, the dam went from 79 feet to 84 feet — just 6 feet shy of what it can handle, authorities said. After peaking at more than 85 feet, the water level had dropped by Saturday evening to 81.14 feet, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Green on Saturday said that 85 feet marks "the threshold of great concern" for the dam.  

The state had said the Wahiawa dam had "high hazard potential," and that a failure would "result in probable loss of human life." 

The earthen dam was built in 1906 to increase sugar production for the Waialua Agricultural Company, which eventually became a subsidiary of Dole Food Company. It was reconstructed following a collapse in 1921.

The state has sent Dole four notices of deficiency about the dam since 2009 and, five years ago, fined the company $20,000 for failing to address safety deficiencies on time, according to records. Afterward, Dole proposed to donate the dam, reservoir and ditch system to the state in exchange for the state's agreement to repair the spillway to meet and maintain dam safety standards.

The state passed legislation in 2023 authorizing the dam's acquisition. It also provided $5 million to buy the spillway and $21 million to repair and expand it to comply with dam safety requirements. But the transfer has not been completed. A state board is due to vote on the acquisition next week.

"The dam continues to operate as designed with no indications of damage," Dole said in an emailed statement.

The state regulates 132 dams across Hawaii, most of them built as part of irrigation systems for the sugar cane industry, according to a 2019 infrastructure report by the American Society of Civil Engineers.