Tropical Storm Lane poses flooding threat

Remnants of hurricane could bring landslides

Rain from Tropical Storm Lane continued to fall Saturday, posing a threat of flooding in Hawaii.

HONOLULU – On the Big Island of Hawaii, rain from the remnants of what began as Hurricane Lane earlier in the week continued to fall Saturday morning, though the National Weather Service canceled the tropical storm warning for the island.

The hardest-hit of the islands, Hawaii has seen record rainfalls over the past three days that have brought flooding, made roads impassable and destroyed some homes but resulted in no reported deaths.

Some areas had received as much as 40 inches of precipitation. Streams and rivers were rising above their banks.

Another 5 to 10 inches of rain was expected in some areas over the weekend, the NWS said.

“The potential for additional excessive rainfall remains high, which would lead to life threatening flash flooding, as well as landslides. Flooding will be possible in areas that are typically not prone to flooding,” the service said in a warning.

Guy Berryessa in San Francisco got a call from the tenants of a house his family owns in Papaikou, just north of Hilo on the island, and received a startling update.

“The entire backyard is gone,” Berryessa said of the home.

The previous owner had put in a 30foot rock retaining wall and extensive drainage to protect against flooding from nearby creeks, but the 26 inches of rain the town got in 48 hours overcame them.

“I fear it’s a total loss,” Berryessa said. But he’d spent the day finding other housing for his tenants. “We’ll worry about the house later; they’re more important right now.”

Saturday morning dawned cloudy with a few rays of sunshine occasionally peeking through in Honolulu, after a long night of rain and wind.

Officials noted that with the ground saturated with water and more rains coming over the weekend, residents should still be cautious.

On Friday, Caldwell said people need to be vigilant and not let their guard down. But he was happy to hear the storm deteriorated.

“The good news is Lane got weak and fell apart. We dodged a bullet,” he said at a Friday news conference.

Even a steadily weakened Lane has dumped nearly 3 feet of rain on parts of the Big Island of Hawaii over the past two days, forcing residents to flee their homes in waist-high water and officials to clear a series of landslides.