At least 22 homes from Kahuku to Kahalu'u suffered flood damage from the past week's heavy rains, said state officials, who took to the air yesterday for a better view of the waterlogged North Shore and Windward Coast.

From a Hawai'i Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopter, Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona and state civil defense and agriculture officials were relieved the damage was not more extensive. As expected, they saw drenched farms and golf courses, plus brown and murky runoff coursing into normally pristine beaches and bays from Kahuku to Waimanalo.

No injuries have been reported.

"Luckily, no lives have been lost — property, yes," Aiona said.

Three National Guard reconnaissance teams had knocked on the doors of 37 homes by yesterday morning. Three houses suffered "severe flood damage" while 19 others had minor damage, said Ed Teixeira, vice director of the state Civil Defense.

One house that barely escaped damage was Doug Kekona's. Road closures stopped him from getting to his welding job Thursday, so Kekona returned to his three-bedroom house next to the Crouching Lion restaurant. At about 1:30 p.m., he heard trees snapping and the sound of rumbling.

He looked out his living room window and saw a 20-foot plum tree "sailing down my driveway," Kekona said. "Then there was the spark from the tree getting hung up in the power line. It was a pretty awesome event."

Kekona estimated that a quarter-acre hunk of hillside let loose from all the rain and sent boulders, debris and mud roaring between his and his neighbor's homes.

"If the slide went 50 feet either way, we would be damaged," Kekona said. "But it went right between us."

Kekona and his 62-year-old mother lost power until 11 p.m. Friday and since Thursday have been using a neighbor's hose for water.

But the worst part, Kekona said, is being shut in by the landslide, which prevents him from using either of his trucks to get to work.

"I think we dodged one, unless we have another huge rain."

The worst-hit area appeared to be around the Crouching Lion, near Kekona's house, said Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, director of state Civil Defense.

"We saw a streambed with a rather large washout that carried debris out to the ocean," Lee said. "Farther up the hill, closer toward Crouching Lion, the side of the mountain just gave way."

An Army National Guard Chinook helicopter took aerial photographs Friday that showed extensive areas along the coast under water. By yesterday, many were drying out.

Aiona said he remains concerned about potential health hazards along beaches, and also worries about the crop losses from farmers that will take months to tally.

"But all in all, I was happy," he said. "I didn't see anything that would cause real concern — at least from the air."

"We just need more sunshine — and to have it stay," Lee said.

The forecast through Thursday calls for a more typical weather pattern of partly cloudy skies, scattered showers in Windward and mauka areas and typical trade winds of 10 to 20 mph, said Tim Craig, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service.

"We're still looking at the possibility of an increase in showers after Wednesday, but it would be sort of a wet trade wind pattern," Craig said.

As officials lifted off in two Black Hawks at Wheeler Army Airfield at 11:45 a.m. and headed from Hale'iwa to Waimanalo, they were uncertain what kind of damage they would see from 1,000 feet in the air.

The main concern was the conditions of bridges and culverts along Kamehameha Highway, followed by worries over landslides and rubble.

"Part of this is to prioritize what we're going to do on the ground," Lee said at a pre-flight briefing. "Where do we need the 'dozers and cranes?"

Fifty Army and Air National Guardsmen are available for the cleanup, Lee said. "If we need more, we'll get more."

Once in the air, officials were happy to see that all bridges and culverts seemed to be structurally sound. "Although there was a lot of water and a lot of debris, the roads are open and we're happy to see the sun," Lee said.

Sandra Lee Kunimoto, chairwoman of the state Board of Agriculture, focused on farm damage.

"You could see the flooding in the low-lying areas, but we didn't see any major structural damage," she said. "Probably what we're going to be dealing with is more localized flooding. We're going to continue to stay in touch with the farmers to continue to assess the damage over time."

Scott Ishikawa, spokesman for the state Department of Transportation, said an eight-mile stretch of Kamehameha Highway affected by the flood — from Waiahole to Crouching Lion — had been scheduled for repaving.

That area and a stretch of Kamehameha Highway, from the veterans' cemetery in Kane'ohe to Castle Junction, will be repaved when the roads dry, Ishikawa said. Crews will clear culverts and beneath bridges early this week, he said, and potholes across the island will be repaired as the weather allows.

"You can't really patch them when the roads are wet," Ishikawa said. "It's like pouring oatmeal on the ground."

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.