A house on Haleiwa Road is surrounded by floodwaters Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in Haleiwa, Hawaii. Torrential rains have inundated parts of Hawaii for the past several days. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP)
OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 11:11 AM PT – Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Heavy rain across Hawaii has caused flash floods and mudslides, in turn, forcing evacuations throughout the islands. Some residents, like Mark Alexander of Haiku, said this is the worst flooding they have seen in more than 25 years.
“This happened in like a matter of minutes,” he recounted. “Like it’s to my waist…it’s to my chest…next thing I see, ice box passing me.”
The National Weather Service reported more than 13 inches of rain fell in the Haiku area on Maui’s north coast. There are currently no reports of deaths or injuries, but officials said the flooding damaged bridges, roadways and destroyed several homes.
Gov. David Ige signed an emergency proclamation Tuesday to free up state funds to assist those impacted by the heavy rains and flooding on all islands.
The emergency proclamation makes state general funds available that can be used quickly and efficiently to help those impacted by the severe weather, which is expected to continue until Friday. You can view the proclamation here: https://t.co/AymKvvePYl (2/2)
— Governor David Ige (@GovHawaii) March 10, 2021
Officials in the Hawaiian island of Maui issued evacuation orders on Tuesday after heavy rains caused a dam to be in danger of imminent failure. According to Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency on Monday, evacuation shelters on Maui have opened up at the Paia Community Center and Hana High School.
EVACUATIONS UNDERWAY: This is what a portion of Hana Highway looks like now near Haiku, Maui. Senator J Kalani English is warning the Kaupakalua Dam could break at any time and thousands are in the impact zone.
Vid Credit: Carlos Rosaga pic.twitter.com/bZ6UHsuwjx— Eddie Dowd (@EddieDowdTV) March 9, 2021
Authorities said water over-topped the Kaupakalua Reservoir and Dam, in turn, causing flood waters and residents to be trapped inside their homes. Due to the weather, all parks in the county have been closed.
The severe weather is expected to continue through Friday.
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