Water main break floods five homes in McCully
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
At least five families are homeless today after a broken water main in McCully flooded their homes last night.
Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser
The break was reported at 6:10 p.m. at the corner of McCully and Algaroba streets. Witnesses said water gushed about 6 feet into the air and flooded several homes.
The intersection of Wiliwili and Algaroba flooded after a water main broke near the corner of McCully and Algaroba. Repair crews had problems shutting off the 16-inch main because one of the valves had been paved over.
Bruce Morrow said he was with his wife in their ground-floor apartment at 2021 Algaroba when a river of water crashed into their place. He said there was about three feet of water in his apartment.
"We lost everything," Morrow said. "It just came in like a rapid. It happened so fast, we couldn't get anything out. We didn't know what was going on."
Morrow suffered minor cuts when he broke a window glass so they could climb out and escape.
"I couldn't get through the door because the water was coming in, so I had to go through the window," he said.
The water flowed for nearly three hours before Honolulu Board of Water Supply crews managed to shut off the 16-inch main. Mike Fuke, head of maintenance, said crews had problems finding one of the valves near Young Street because it had been paved over.
Acting fire battalion chief Nathan Kapule said officials were trying to determine how many families were affected and the extent of the damage. The American Red Cross was assisting families that were left homeless.
Police closed McCully Street between South King and Waiola streets. Fuke said motorists should avoid the area because the repair work was expected to last at least through the morning.
Fuke did not know how many homes and businesses were without water last night.
Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8025.
