Rain, wind buffet Islands
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
Heavy rain and gusty winds buffeted the state yesterday and knocked out power to some areas on O'ahu, but there were no reports of major flooding or serious damage last night.
Tim Wright • Special to The Advertiser
Kaua'i was under a flash-flood warning for most of the evening as heavy rainfall was recorded on parts of the island. More than 3 inches fell on Koke'e during a six-hour period ending at 9:15 p.m.
Heavy rain on the Big Island yesterday closed the Hawai'i Belt Road between Pahala and Na'alehu and prompted early dismissal at some schools.
But the rain eased late last night and the National Weather Service canceled the flood warning. A flash-flood watch was in effect for the state until at least 4 a.m. today.
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 burglary alarms, which kept police busy, said Lt. Todd Oba of the East Honolulu police district.
"Officers were being sent out, left and right," Oba said. "Fortunately, we were fully staffed."
The weather service warned of possible heavy showers and thunderstorms over O'ahu, Kaua'i and Maui through tomorrow, with southerly winds increasing today to 15 to 30 mph with higher gusts.
Partly cloudy skies and brief showers are expected to continue through Saturday.
The gusty winds were blamed for power failures in Kailua and Kane'ohe and on the North Shore last night.
Fred Kobashikawa, Hawaiian Electric Co. spokesman, said 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.
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 the 4,000 customers was restored at 7:45 p.m., he said.
About 8:20 p.m., nearly 1,800 customers in the Ha'iku area of Kane'ohe lost power from strong winds, and were still in the dark at 10:30 p.m.
On the Big Island, heavy rain fell over the southeast side of the island for most of the day. Pahala recorded 5.68 inches during a 24-hour period, Glenwood 4.67 inches and Waiakea Uka in Hilo 3 inches.
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.
Marya Schwabe, director of Wood Valley Temple & Retreat, said yesterday's rain was nothing close to the storm of Nov. 1-2, 2000, which caused $70 million damage on the Big Island and Maui.
"It's not anything like last year. We've lived through many of these storms," she said. "This one is pretty mild."
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor Christie Wilson contributed to this report.
