Posted at 3:11 p.m., Tuesday, March 14, 2006
National Guard teams responding to Kaua'i
Advertiser Staff
Two damage assessment teams from the Hawai'i Air National Guard and the Hawai'i Army National Guard have been sent to Kaua'i in the aftermath of the Kaloko Reservoir dam breach.Maj. Gen. Robert G. F. Lee, head of the state National Guard and head of state Civil Defense, said two Black Hawk helicopters were sent to Kaua'i this afternoon, and a C-26, a 14-passenger aircraft, also will be sent to shuttle people and supplies to the island.
Lee, speaking at an afternoon news conference, said additional concern now is focused on the Morita Reservoir dam, which is downstream of Kaloko Reservoir dam in Kilauea.
Continuing rains and spillover from the Kaloko dam have raised levels of Morita Reservoir to dangerous levels.
Ed Teixeira, vice director of the state Civil Defense, said crews have detected signs of erosion on Morita.
"We've got to work to evaluate that situation, find out remedies to that dam," Teixeira said at the news conference.
