Fatal Maui Jeep crash highlights flood dangers
| • | Teach children about flash floods |
By Christie Wilson
Neighbor Island Editor
Public safety officials are warning of the dangers of flash flooding after three people died in a fast-moving stream on Maui last weekend and other lives were endangered on O'ahu.
Many people have become complacent after years of drought and may not treat dry waterfalls and streambeds with the proper degree of caution, said Mark Tanaka-Sanders, district ranger at Haleakala National Park's Kipahulu District, where two California tourists were rescued Saturday. It is important to recognize when a flash flood is imminent, said, and to use common sense.
The victims
Anthea Bond
Jim Elliott
Claudia Lenore
Photos courtesy of Maui News
Stream systems in Hawai'i are miles long, stretching from mountaintops to sea level. Rainwater gathers in gulches and valleys, sending large volumes downstream at high speed. At the lower elevations, "the whole thing happens so fast," Tanaka-Sanders said.
The distinction between a flood and a flash flood usually is determined by the amount of warning. Flash flooding occurs within six hours of rain, while flooding may last a week or more.
Flash floods are the top weather-related killer in the United States, according to the National Weather Service, and nearly half of all fatalities involve automobiles.
The three people who died Saturday on Maui were riding in a Jeep Cherokee when it was swept downstream trying to cross Kope Gulch in Upper Waiehu. A survivor said the four-wheel-drive vehicle gave a false sense of security that the five occupants could traverse a concrete stream crossing even though the rushing water had nearly engulfed two sedans that had gone ahead.
"It seems like it's obvious, looking back in hindsight. But not one of us five said, 'Oh, I don't think we'd better do this,' " said Jacqueline Field of Upper Waiehu, who was pulled from the flipped Cherokee by another backseat passenger. "It's the whole myth of four-wheel-drive vehicles, that they can go anywhere and do anything."
Three front-seat occupants died: driver Jim Elliott, 51, of Upper Waiehu, and visitors Claudia Lenore, 51, of Santa Cruz, Calif., and Anthea Bond, 42, of Los Angeles.
Elliott's wife, Sandy Shiner, said flash floods aren't usually a concern for residents who live on Malaihi Road, amid macadamia nut orchards and a forest reserve at the foot of the West Maui Mountains. Normally, the stream is just a trickle.
"It was just those few times a year when you had to make a little bit of a judgment call to turn around or make it comfortably across that trough," she said. "But the water comes up real fast. People don't realize a big car can be taken like a feather."
A weather service press release says it takes only 2 feet of water to carry away most cars; 6 inches can knock people off their feet.
The same day that Elliott and the others were killed in Waiehu, park rangers at Kipahulu in East Maui rescued a California couple trapped by rising waters in Palikea Stream.
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| Duane Meyer of D Towing prepares a Jeep Cherokee for removal from a Waiehu stream. The car was swept off the road by a flash flood Saturday, killing three.
Christie Wilson • The Honolulu Advertiser |
"I've seen it rise 4 feet within 10 minutes. You have a narrow rock channel and the water has nowhere to go."
Flash floods are the most frequent natural event in the Kipahulu District, which includes the famed Pools of 'Ohe'o.
"Numbers of people have been washed away," and there have been a half-dozen fatalities in recent years, the ranger said. "We've had times when the stream was closed and rangers told them not to go swimming, and they climbed over the rope and past the warning signs and went swimming."
Flash floods are an everyday concern for Wailuku Agribusiness, which owns 21,000 acres of watershed in the West Maui Mountains. President Avery Chumbley, a state senator, said hikers who come in to get a free permit to use the Swinging Bridges trail on Wailuku Ag land in Waihe'e Valley are given articles about flash-flood rescues and advised about safety.
But there are a "tremendous number of trespassers," Chumbley said. "It's a constant worry."
On O'ahu over the weekend, three youngsters were caught in a Makiki Stream flow, and several hikers were stranded by rain-swollen mountain streams.
Capt. Richard Soo, Honolulu Fire Department's public information officer, said you should never try to walk, swim or drive through swift water. When hiking, it's wise to check weather conditions and let someone know of your plans and estimated return time, he said.
Even if it's just a day hike, Soo advises bringing enough food and water to spend the night, along with a whistle, flashlight, mirror and cell phone.
"If darkness is falling or if you notice the waters are rising, don't try to make it out. Commit to spending the night and find a secure, dry place to wait for rescue," Soo said.
Greg Chong Kee, acting assistant chief for the Maui Fire Control Department, said the simplest thing to do is to look up into the mountains. "If you see big, dark clouds, you know it's raining. And the water has to go somewhere."
