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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, November 14, 2009

Hauula home falls victim to rain-swollen stream


Advertiser Staff

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Shon Ka'ana'ana, of Hau'ula, stands at his home by the rushing waters of Kaipapa'u Stream. Part of the house collapsed into the stream early this morning, a victim of the rain-swollen waters.

REBECCA BREYER | The Honolulu Advertiser

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Shon Kaçanaçana knew it was going to happen; it was just a matter of when.

In Hauçula, a 400-square-foot section of the home in which Kaçanaçana had been living hung precariously in mid-air on Friday, after the embankment beneath it was cut away by the rain-swollen waters of Kaipapaçu Stream.
Kaçanaçana, 41, said the house would go down if the rains didn’t stop. His prediction came true in the middle of the night.
“It fell in the river about 3 o’clock this morning,” said Kaçanaçana, who was standing in the yard about 20 feet away when the home’s living room and bedroom fell. “I was waiting for the thing to fall. I could barely hear it because the river was roaring so loud.”
Kaçanaçana said he then called his sister, who owns the house, to tell her it had collapsed. The news didn’t come as a surprise.
“We knew it was going to happen,” he said. “So, we were prepared.”
John Cummings, with the city and county Department of Emergency Management, said officials were initially concerned that the collapsed structure would cut off the river’s flow.
“We were just worried about it blocking the stream and making matters worse,” said Cummings. “But the fire department personnel on the scene assured us that that was not the case.”
Apparently the house landed on the river bank, he said.