Las Vegas Review-Journal

Severe weather slams Hawaii

Roads flooded, power knocked out across islands in Pacific

- By Caleb Jones

HONOLULU — A strong storm packing high winds and extremely heavy rain flooded roads and knocked out power across Hawaii, with officials warning Monday of potentiall­y worse conditions ahead.

The National Weather Service said the storm brings the threat of “catastroph­ic flooding” in the coming days as a low pressure system slowly moves from east to west and lingered on the edge of the archipelag­o.

“Now is the time to make sure you have an emergency plan in place and supplies ready should you need to move away from rising water,” said Gov. David Ige, who issued a state of emergency for all of the state’s islands Monday night.

On Oahu, where four shelters had been opened, most of the beaches in Waikiki were empty Monday as only a few people walked with umbrellas during passing heavy showers. Roadways were flooding in the area and cars crept through downtown as water gushed out of manhole covers.

Honolulu Fire Department workers rescued five boys, ages 9-10, from a raging stream, a fire department statement said.

One boy was rescued after he released his grip on a branch and the rushing waters took him to firefighte­rs close by downstream, who grabbed him. Firefighte­rs used a ladder to rescue another boy farther downstream and jumped into the stream to get the other three out of the water, the statement said.

None of the boys were injured and the fire department said that they had gone into the stream to play after school.

On Maui, power outages and flooding already have been reported, with more than a foot of rain falling in some areas.

The relentless rain forced three couples from the U.S. mainland to postpone their Maui elopements, said Nicole Bonanno, owner of Bella Bloom Floral, a wedding florist and boutique in Wailea.

The weather also led to delayed flower deliveries, a lei company with no power and employees braving flooded roads littered with debris, Bonanno said.

“The roads, everything are a mess,” she said. “There are lots of trees down.”

Maui resident Jimmy Gomes was waiting for the lights to come back at his home on Monday after losing power at 6 p.m. Sunday. His rain gauge measured 7 inches: “I haven’t seen this kind of rain in a long time,” he said.

Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth declared a state of emergency Sunday for potentiall­y heavy rainfall and strong winds.

Some areas south of Hilo were hit hard with extremely heavy rain over the weekend, weather officials said.

All islands still face the threat of flash flooding, lightning strikes, landslides and strong winds over the next two days, according to the National Weather Service.

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