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The Honolulu Advertiser

Updated at 6:10 p.m., Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Windward Oahu dealing with storm's aftermath

Advertiser Staff

 

What may appear to be a melting snowman is all that is left of the Kaneohe Police Department's Christmas decorations, which had covered the entire lawn before the storm.

Deborah Booker/Advertiser Staff

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Windward O'ahu was also still dealing with the aftermath of the rough weather.

Many homes in Kailua and Kaneohe were still without power by the middle of the day. Windward Mall was packed with families and around noontime about a dozen people had gathered outside Ruby Tuesday waiting for seats.

Kimberly Louis, 42, a mortgage broker who works out of her Kane'ohe home, said her family lost electricity at about 1:30 a.m. This meant she had to close her business for the day and would probably have to work on the weekend to make up for the lost hours, she said.

As the family let their four dogs into the house for the night, their Christmas display in the front yard was swept away by the strong winds and Louis had to chase the flying reindeer down the street.

"It gave new meaning to Santa flying with his reindeer," she said.

Earlier in the day, traffic on Kamehameha Highway between Wailehua Road and Waihe'e Road in Kahalu'u was being rerouted, possibly due to flooding.

At the Hygienic Store, the top of a utility pole is broken but still attached to its base. And lights on the Likelike Highway were out, drivers reported.

On the way into Kailua, crews were cleaning branches off the side of Pali Highway.

At noon, many traffic signals were out in Kailua and Kane'ohe, and Christmas displays bore the evidence of the high winds.

In the middle of Kailua town, two reindeer among a half-dozen on display were blown over, one snapped in half.

In Kane'ohe, the remains of a Christmas display erected at the police station by members of Hope Chapel Kaneohe Bay lay all over the grass: two snowmen, parts of a wooden house and Christmas lights.

There was no power at the police station, and a sign at the neighboring public library advised, "library closed due to weather — no electricity."