Posted on: Saturday, February 12, 2005
Workweek ends wet and windy
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
Strong winds and heavy rain knocked down trees and utility poles and caused at least two injuries on O'ahu last night.
Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser Police shut down Round Top Drive at Makiki Heights Drive at about 9 p.m. when several trees fell across both lanes near 2063 Round Top Drive. Utility lines also were affected. Police last night said they did not know how long the road would be closed.
One of the trees fell on a car, injuring a 17-year-old girl, according to an Emergency Medical Services spokesman. The girl was taken to The Queen's Medical Center in serious condition.
The wind and rain also were blamed for several power failures across O'ahu. The power failures affected about 4,300 customers in Makaha, 1,700 in Wailupe and 'Aina Haina, and another 500 in Nanakuli and Ko Olina, said Lynne Unemori, HECO spokeswoman.
She said HECO began receiving calls at about 9 p.m., about the same time the National Weather Service issued its high-wind advisory.
The gusty winds came on the heels of a passing cold front that brought heavy rain to Kaua'i and O'ahu yesterday. O'ahu was under an urban and small-stream flood advisory and a high-wind advisory for most of last evening, but those advisories were expected to be lifted today.
The Leeward Coast took the brunt of the winds, estimated at 30 mph with gusts to 50 mph. Unemori said HECO received reports of several downed utility poles along the coast.
The cold front was making its way east to the Big Island and should be accompanied by heavy showers today, said Tim Craig, National Weather Service lead forecaster.
Meanwhile, the strong winds should be tapering off today over Kaua'i and O'ahu, Craig said. O'ahu residents can expect partly cloudy skies and scattered showers this afternoon with mostly clear skies by late tonight.
Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.
The Honolulu Fire Department reported about a half-dozen weather-related incidents, from arcing transformers to a blown roof on Moeha Street in Wai'anae, said spokesman Capt. Kenison Tejada. There was a report of an injury to a firefighter who responded to an arcing transformer near Honokai Hale, but his condition was not available last night.
Rain made for a wet drive yesterday along South Street. Heavy rain fell over parts of O'ahu and Kaua'i, leading the National Weather Service to issue flood advisories. Today's forecast calls for showers with occasional heavy rain in windward and mountain areas. The weather is expected to clear tomorrow.
