Officials to assess farm flood damage
By Scott Ishikawa and Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Staff Writers
With a dead daikon plant in his hand, Waialua farmer Onh Cavan surveyed the grounds where his crops and dreams washed away with Monday's flooding, which some called the worst in nearly two decades.
"All my crops, they're all pau," Cavan said of his six-acre farm where he also grew cucumber and bitter melon that drowned in the rising waters or were now smothered by two feet of mud.
Residents and farmers on the North Shore and Windward O'ahu assessed the damage from Monday's flooding.
State agriculture officials plan to inspect the farms this week and may have a damage estimate by next week, said Doreen Shishido, administrator of agriculture loans.
"We have been getting calls," she said. "We will be working with them and if there is any way we can assist them, we will."
Payments or interest could be suspended until individual farmers recover, she said.
In the hardest-hit areas of Waiahole, Waialua and Hale'iwa, some farmers estimated they had lost as much as 80 to 90 percent of their crops. Individual damage estimates ranged as high as $50,000.
Losses will probably not affect consumers much, said one local produce buyer today. Floyd Mikasa, produce director for Times Supermarket, said harvesting of papayas and watermelon will be delayed, but probably not significantly.
By 7 p.m. yesterday, rainfall totals were negligible, and most of O'ahu was expected to get a chance to dry out today after as much as 8 inches of rain in 24 hours from Monday's storm.
The National Weather Service last night canceled the flash-flood watch for O'ahu, and the flood watch for Kaua'i expired at 4 this morning. Lead forecaster Jeff Powell called for showers today, some possibly heavy, but he said the potential for flooding was "pretty low."
Powell said the weather should improve beginning today, but residents on Kaua'i and O'ahu can expect to see the return of possibly heavy showers Saturday.
Shortly after 5 p.m. yesterday, Powell reported seeing a waterspout and several funnel clouds off of Barber's Point. The clouds were well off shore and did not pose a hazard, he said.
"I thought it was very pretty to look at," Powell said. "But when I looked back about 10 minutes later the heavy rain had totally overwhelmed the funnel cloud and the water spouts so I couldn't see them anymore."
More rain is "the last thing we need now," said Waialua farmer Dina Sayner after floodwaters that she described as more than head-high destroyed about 80 percent of her crops. "We don't want any more water right now."
Cavan said his crop loss amounted to about a third of his annual income. He said the 13 families farming at the 60-acre site leased from Dole Foods will have to wait until the muddy soil dries before they can start over.
"About 10 of the families here have children," said Cavan, who was born in Laos. "We'll start again, but it's going to be rough."
On the Windward side, streams in Waiahole and Waikane were running strong and full yesterday.
Dozens of young trees lay uprooted on the ground in the middle of a papaya grove. At an ornamental plant nursery, 300 plants in pots were tipped over, all the soil washed out.
"We get over $50,000 damage," said the 81-year-old owner of Waiahole Nursery.
He said he didn't want to be identified because he's thinking of suing the people responsible for not maintaining a culvert that he said jammed and caused flooding on his property.
Waikane papaya farmer James Song was disheartened by the damage. He said his trees had not recuperated from significant rains in January when they were hit by Monday's deluge.
He estimated that he had $45,000 in damage at his two farms in Waikane and Waiahole Valley, a total of 12 acres. But the costs could be higher if the trees and plants succumb to water damage, he said.
Meanwhile, residents at the Otake Camp in Waialua began sorting out personal items that could be salvaged after being hit by floodwaters from Kaukonahua Stream.
Many residents were angry that water from Wahiawa Reservoir, which feeds into many area streams, had not been released more often. The level of Lake Wilson has risen as water is no longer needed for sugar cane irrigation.
"They have to release water from Lake Wilson more often so this doesn't happen," said Otake Camp resident Lisa Lobitos, who lost all her family's Christmas memorabilia handed down by previous generations to overflow from the reservoir, which pushed Kaukonahua Stream over its banks.
Lobitos, who said the water came to the top step of her home, which sits on 4-foot stilts, called it the worst flooding in her 19 years of living there.
"Every time there's a huge rain, I worry about my kids," said Lobitos, who is considering moving from the area because of floods. "If that dam ever breaks, we're dead."
State Sen. Bobby Bunda, who represents the North Shore area, said $500,000 had been allocated two years ago to look at ways to rectify Kaukonahua Stream flooding.
A state study that used a portion of the money offered some options: creating a second reservoir to handle the overflow from Lake Wilson; relocating the Otake Camp homes to higher ground or elevating the units; or having the state buy the property.
"While they are good options, all of them are cost-prohibitive," Bunda said. "The $500,000 alone is not going to solve the problem."
American Red Cross spokeswoman Jocelyn Collado said several Otake Camp residents reported flood damage to their homes, but none requested long-term assistance.
Advertiser staff writer Mike Gordon contributed to this report.
