O'ahu residents, especially on the hard-hit North Shore, spent today recovering from yesterday's flooding but also braced for more heavy rain that could come this afternoon or tonight.

Farmer Phy Van Quan surveys the flood damage to his pumpkin field in Waialua. He says yesterday’s rain wiped out most of his crops, and he doesn’t have enough money to replant. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

"Boy, I tell you, there are a lot of showers just south, offshore of Leeward O'ahu and Kaua'i just missing us," National Weather Service lead forecaster Henry Lau said today.

"This afternoon the atmosphere is ripe for additional showers and thunderstorms. Heavy stuff."

A flood watch was in effect through 4 p.m. for O'ahu and Kaua'i.

Conditions should improve tomorrow but will still be partly cloudy with isolated showers through Saturday.

The rain yesterday kept police and firefighters busy rescuing 30 people. Two North Shore schools were closed and a flooded Wai-alua neighborhood was evacuated.

Hardest hit was the Otake Camp neighborhood off Kaupe Road in Waialua, a low-lying area along Kaukonahua Stream. Flood water yesterday morning forced out 19 residents, 12 of them airlifted by fire and police helicopters. Otake Camp has about 15 homes and 75 to 100 residents.

Today, Anthony Nery Jr., who lives in the camp with his wife and two children, spent the morning lugging water-logged furniture and personal items out of his home. As if he needed a reminder, a 3-foot-high line of debris along interior walls showed how high the water had gone.

"Everything is pretty much gone," he said. "The water even got into the electrical outlets, so that and the drywall is ruined."

Farmers in the area watched in horror as crops disappeared under floodwater yesterday.

"Everything is just like it got washed away," said farmer Phy Van Quan, 41, who was growing pumpkins, cucumbers, tomatoes, bittermelon and long beans.

Anthony Nery Jr. and his wife, Jennifer, inspect their flood-damaged living room at their home at Otake Camp in Waialua. He spent this morning lugging water-logged furniture and items out of their home, which bears a 3-foot high watermark from the flood water. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

"Some of it you can still see on the ground but in two to three days, it will die," he said. "We will have to clean it up and start all over again. It's expensive. If you plant cucumber you probably spend $2,000 before you are done."

There were no weather-related injuries yesterday, and officials said they hoped to get a better idea today of how much damage the flooding caused.

"We didn't have any major problems other than road closures," Wayne Jones, acting administrator for O'ahu Civil Defense, said today. "We had some property damage, no doubt about that. But if you live in low-lying areas, that's one of the hazards you face."

Last night, firefighters rescued seven people in four cars stranded by rising water in Windward O'ahu.

Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Kenison Tejada said the Waikane Stream overflowed onto Kamehameha Highway, making it impossible for cars to pass. A cell phone call from one trapped person was relayed to emergency officials.

After that rescue, the fire crew from the Kahalu'u station found itself stranded on the Kahuku side of the Waikane Stream bridge. Tejada said the firefighters did not want to risk driving through the floodwater and would wait until the water receded.

Hazardous conditions forced police to close Kamehameha Highway between Waiahole and Waikane valleys after 8 p.m.

Late last night, police and fire crews also were helping motorists caught in floodwater near the Punalu'u bridge in Windward O'ahu. Details were not available.

Rain was heaviest in Central and Windward O'ahu.

The 24-hour rainfall total by 8 a.m. stood at 7.89 inches at Wilson Tunnel, 7.74 inches at Waihe'e Station (in the Ko'olaus, between Kane'ohe and Kualoa) and 6.91 inches at 'Ahuimanu.

Waialua Elementary School was closed yesterday because the campus is next to a rising stream, and Hale'iwa Elementary was shut down when rainwater flooded a nearby cesspool. Both reopened today.

Much of yesterday's flooding in Waialua and Hale'iwa was linked to overnight rain in Central O'ahu and the North Shore, which caused Lake Wilson or the Wahiawa Reservoir to flood into Kaukonahua Stream and other waterways that run through both communities.

Marvin Schade, who operates a three-acre farm in the upper part of Otake Camp, was airlifted out by a fire department helicopter after stream water began to rise "a foot every 20 to 30 minutes" around 10 a.m.

"I think I lost everything," Schade said of his crop of cucumber, bittermelon and chili pepper. Because his pit bull wasn't allowed aboard the helicopter, he tied the dog to a tree on higher ground. "When the waters die down, I'm going back to look for her," he said.

The evacuees were taken to Waialua High School for hot meals and clothing.

Otake Camp residents were allowed back into their homes shortly before 3 p.m. yesterday.

Civil defense administrator Jones said it was unclear how many homes were damaged by flooding. "I think we'll have a better idea (today)," he said.

Jones said the level of Lake Wilson in Wahiawa rose 6 feet above the 80-foot spillway yesterday morning after the torrential rain, causing much of the flooding in Waialua.

The rain caused an estimated 9,000 gallons of raw sewage to overflow at the Wahiawa Wastewater Treatment Plant yesterday, spilling into storm drains and Lake Wilson. The spill was reported about 5:30 a.m. and brought under control by 10, officials said.

Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Richard Soo said helicopter crews plucked six people and two dogs from a nearby farming area off Kaukonahua Road near Hukilau Loop.

"They were apparently trying to save some farming equipment when they got trapped," Soo said.

Fire crews in Pearl City also responded to two men trapped atop their vehicle near 749 Lehua Ave., Soo said.

Kamehameha Highway from Wahiawa to Hale'iwa was closed yesterday morning for six hours because mud created slick conditions.

On the Big Island, Hilo and the Ka'u district had a fourth day of rain. In the 24-hour period that ended at 2 p.m. yesterday, nearly 6 inches of rain fell on Hilo and Pahala.

Worries about the weather led officials to close Na'alehu and Pahala elementary schools and Ka'u High School yesterday.