Blustery weather strikes state
• Table: Rainfall totals, in inches
By Mike Gordon and Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writers
Today was one of those soggy, slipper-squishing days as a kona storm continued to lash the state with heavy rain and gusting winds.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
The Big Island was hit hardest, with 24-hour rain totals by 8 a.m. topping nine inches at Kapapala Ranch and a little over seven inches at Glenwood and Pahala, said Tim Craig, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.
Police officer Laurie Takamoto directs traffic today on Kahekili Highway and Kea'ahala Road in Kane'ohe after a traffic signal malfunctioned. The rain forced Windward Community College, background, to cancel classes.
The weather service issued a flash flood warning at 8:45 a.m. today for Ka'u, Puna and south and north Hilo, Craig said. It also extended a flood watch through 4 p.m.today for Moloka'i, Lanai, Maui and the Big Island, where it said to expect minor flooding of small streams and roadways in south Kohala and north and south Kona district through mid-day.
Steady rain, which began falling on parts of Kaua'i and the Big Island yesterday, is expected to continue through tomorrow.
"The rain we are having now is the good kind of rain," Craig said. "The steady, soaking rain, the kind the farmers love to see."
Gusting winds of 15 to 30 mph were blamed for power failures last night throughout O'ahu, said Fred Kobashikawa, Hawaiian Electric Co. spokesman.
"Our crews have been on the move," he said. "We've had calls for most areas of O'ahu. Customers in 'Ewa Beach and Wai'anae areas apparently made through better than other areas."
Flying debris struck power lines and caused momentary power loss in many areas, Kobashikawa said. Some lines were knocked down.
North Shore customers were hit hardest, he said. Shortly before 6 p.m., power to about 4,000 customers from Waialua to Waimea Bay was cut when a power line on Mahaulu Lane in Hale'iwa was knocked down.
Kobashikawa said wind blew debris into the line and caused a flash, which caused support equipment to break and the line to fall. Electricity to all but 20 of those customers was restored at 7:45 p.m., he said.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Windward O'ahu residents also suffered. In Kailua, a tree branch broke and pulled down a power line on Oneawa Street near Kailua Road about 5 p.m. About 1,500 customers were without power until 6:45, Kobashikawa said.
Vehicles along Kailua Road splash their way through street ponds following the heavy overnight rains on O'ahu.
And about 8:20 p.m., nearly 1,800 customers in the Ha'iku area of Kane'ohe lost power from strong winds.
A seven-hour power outage that began just after midnight in Kane'ohe shut down the presses of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, said publisher Don Kendall. He said Neighor Island and home delivery papers were unaffected but those intended for street sales were short 10,000 papers.
"We plan to make it up in the afternoon," Kendall said.
Along the Leeward Coast of O'ahu, morning commuters on Farrington Highway had to negotiate large boulders that blocked all lanes by the Makua Cave and a large tree that fell at 87-1978 Farrington Highway, police said.
Coast Guard spokesmen said there were statewide reports of sailboats breaking their moorings and, in some cases, running aground. Two people piloting a small sailboat off Magic Island despite small-craft warnings were driven to shore by the wind. In Ka'anapali, a 49-foot catamaran broke its mooring last night and was still adrift this morning off the Maui shoreline.
The wild weather and the resulting power surges also tripped burglar alarms, which kept police busy, said Lt. Todd Oba of the East Honolulu police district.
The rain closed schools today on Moloka'i, said Greg Knudsen, spokesman for the state Department of Education.
"We were getting reports that the buses were not able to roll because the roads were in bad condition," he said. "And teachers couldn't get to school, either."
On Maui, scattered power outages in the Upcountry and Kihei areas were reported overnight due to trees and branches hitting power lines, said David Kolona, a shift supervisor at Maui Electric Co.
Also overnight, 1,000 feet of power line dropped into a gulch near Camp Maluhia in Kahakuloa as a result of wind vibration, he said. A helicopter will be used to make repairs today. Residents of the remote area have been experiencing brownouts, and the power will be shut off when repairs are being made.
On the Big Island yesterday, flooding closed the Hawai'i Belt Road between Pahala and Na'alehu, said Bruce Butts, assistant Civil Defense administrator.
Students at Ka'u High School and Pahala Elementary were sent home about 12:30 p.m. while school buses could still cross flood-prone areas.
Civil Defense had received some requests for sand bags from residents in Puna and Hilo, but Butts said there were no reports of damage. A portion of the Wood Valley Road was washed out, leaving motorists to use a cane-haul road.
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor Christie Wilson contributed to this report.
