Hawaii flooding prompts evacuation orders for more than 5,000 people

Muddy waters from heavy rains flooded streets, pushed homes off their foundations, submerged vehicles and triggered evacuation orders for thousands of residents in towns north of Honolulu on Friday as authorities warned of the possible failure of a 120-year-old dam.

Emergency sirens sounded along Oahu’s north shore, where rising waters damaged homes in a community world-famous for its surfing. Honolulu authorities on Friday morning asked residents to leave the area downstream of Wahiawa Dam, long known to be vulnerable, saying it was at risk of imminent failure.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said during a news conference that there were no deaths or missing people Friday evening.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said 233 people have been rescued so far.

The crew searched by air and sea for the stranded people — efforts that were hampered by people flying personal drones to obtain footage of the flooding, said Ian Scheuring, a Honolulu spokesman.

Dozens, if not hundreds, of homes were damaged, but authorities were unable to fully assess the destruction, Blangiardi said at an afternoon news conference. Some 5,500 people were under evacuation orders.

“There is no doubt that the damage caused so far has been catastrophic,” he said.

Earlier, Green said it was the largest flooding Hawaii had seen in 20 years and that the flooding would have “very serious consequences for us as a state.”

“The reality is that this storm could cost over a billion dollars in damage to both the private and public sectors,” Green said.

Blangiardi said officials were confident in the stability of dams on the island, but it was difficult to predict how much rain would fall and what it might do.

The National Guard and Honolulu firefighters airlifted 72 children and adults who were attending a spring break youth camp to a retreat on Oahu’s west coast called Our Lady of Kea’au, according to city and camp officials. The camp is on high ground but authorities did not want to leave them there, the mayor explained.

Kimberly RY Vierra, a spokeswoman for St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii, which owns the retirement property west of Oahu, said floodwaters had cut off the entrance road to the camp.

On Maui, officials issued an evacuation advisory for some neighborhoods in Lahaina after nearby retention ponds reached capacity. Parts of these neighborhoods were set on fire by the huge forest fire which destroyed much of Lahaina in 2023.

Most of the state was under a flood watch, with Haleiwa and Waialua in North Oahu under a flash flood watch, according to the National Weather Service.

Green said in a social media post that the Hawaii National Guard had been activated to respond to the flooding.

“Of course, the storm is very bad right now, especially on the northern part of Oahu,” he said, describing chest-deep floodwaters. “It’s going to be a very eventful day.”

Green told reporters there had been rescues “straight from the rooftops.” He added that “all resources have been mobilized” to help residents during the floods.

Green said several pet-friendly shelters are open, including those at Waialua High and Intermediate, Wahiawā District Park, Nānākuli High and Intermediate and Kahuku Elementary.

Authorities have been monitoring dam levels since a storm last week dumped heavy rain across the state, causing catastrophic flooding that washed away roads and homes. After the worst, a similar but weaker storm is expected to bring more rain this weekend.

As she prepared to evacuate to a friend’s house on higher ground, Waialua resident Kathleen Pahinui told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the aging dam was a concern every time it rained.

“Just pray for us,” she said. “We understand it’s still raining.”

Authorities issued a warning about the dam during heavy rain last week, but the water level dropped as the rain subsided.

“Water is actively flowing over the spillway right now,” she said.

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

Severe flooding in 2021 may have caused a rupture of the Kaupakalua Dam in the community of Haiku on Maui. A few years earlier, in 2018, floods decimated The Hawaiian taro harvest. In 2006, seven people were killed when Ka Loko Dam on the island of Kauai collapsed and water rushed downward.