Winnie Kwong was sleeping with her 15-month-old baby when water from a broken water main flooded her Liliha apartment yesterday morning, ruining her TV and computer and sending her family and about 15 other residents from other flooded homes scurrying into the street.

"Everybody sleeping, dreaming," said Kwong, who along with her family and the rest of the residents stood barefoot on the sidewalk as firefighters pumped water from their homes. "We didn't know what happened. Lucky the bed was high."

A 12-inch water main near the 1600 block of Liliha Street, between Kuakini and School streets, broke about 1:30 a.m. By the time firefighters got to the scene, water in the two-story complex where Kwong's family has lived the past 12 years was nearly three feet high, said fire battalion chief Scott Lawton.

"The lane to these apartments is below the road and the water just ran into it," Lawton said.

Four ground-floor apartments suffered extensive water damage and had to be evacuated. Twenty apartments and houses were without water in the area because of the break, as well as 10 businesses.

The gush of water from the break was so powerful it lifted a piece of Liliha Street where a recent repair was made to a water main. Crews completed repairs to the main just before 3 p.m.

Reach Dave Dondoneau at ddondoneau@honoluluadvertiser.com.