Posted on: Monday, March 7, 2005
Water main erupts in Kapahulu
By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer
An explosive water main break in Kapahulu sent water and rocks shooting skyward for almost an hour yesterday afternoon, closing the street for several hours and showering debris on two house lots.
Photos by Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser "It just blew up again," said Leo Young, a 67-year-old state employee who lives across the street from the two affected homes on McCorriston Street.
Young said Board of Water Supply crews had been on that street the night before repairing a break. He said that unlike Saturday's incident, yesterday's break started with a bang.
The break to the 8-inch-diameter water main cut off water service to 16 homes. Repairs were expected to be completed about midnight, a Board of Water Supply representative said.
Steven Lu's house was one of two forced to clean up after the break. He said he ran outside and saw water and rocks falling on his family's minivan. "I tried to move the car but cannot," said Lu, 39, who was soaked after he tried to move several household items out of the water's path. "All the rocks falling down."
Firefighters, police officers and residents swept up rocks and helped carry buckets of water away from the soaked homes.
Lu's relatives took pictures of rock damage to his van and another car.
Jean Lee, who lives next door to Lu, said she was angry that the water main broke again, a night after Board of Water Supply crews worked to fix it. She said it was going to take a lot of work to clean up her front driveway.
"All the rocks went flying and we have to clean it all up," she said.
Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110.
About 1:50 p.m. a water main that had ruptured Saturday burst again, hurling asphalt across McCorriston Street and creating a 30-foot tall geyser, residents said. By 2 p.m. yesterday, water still spewed from the broken main and a small sinkhole had started to form.
Police blocked off part of McCorriston Street in Kapahulu after a water main that ruptured on Saturday burst again, creating a 30-foot tall geyser. Water service was cut to 16 homes.
A sinkhole formed after the break spewed water and rocks for nearly an hour.
Honolulu firefighters helped Lu shovel piles of gravel out of his driveway while pumps worked to remove the water that had flooded his basement. Neighbors and relatives arrived quickly to help Lu and his neighbors, the Lees, to clean up and dry off.
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| Steven Lu removes debris that littered his property after a water main ruptured in front of his home on McCorriston Street.
Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser |
