Family flees, sees house float past

Lea Weldon was home in Kalihiwai with her two twins, just under 3 years old, when the thunder started booming about 1 a.m. Sunday.

When the rains followed, the waters rose fast.

“We usually have three hours before it starts flooding,” she said.

For the next few hours, she kept watch on the weather. At about 4 a.m., the water was half way up her car’s tires.

That’s when she decided to take her children to her mother’s house on the same property. But water was coming in there as well, so she and her mom took the twins back to her house.

That’s when she saw it.

“I looked out my picture window and saw the back porch of a third house that sits on our property going by,” she said.

The entire house passed by that window, so they decided to evacuate to a neighbor’s house.

“I grabbed my son and left my mother and daughter behind because my mother is older and I didn’t think she should be carrying a baby through a flood,” Weldon said.

By the time she reached her neighbor’s home, her mom was right behind her, carrying her daughter.

“She’s a strong woman,” Weldon said.

By the time they made it to their neighbor’s, the water was at the bottom stoop. Within 10 minutes, it had risen to the top stoop, so they went to another neighbor’s house, where they waited out the storm.

Both of their cars are submerged in floodwater, she said, and are a total loss. Though her house is damaged, too, Weldon is staying positive.

“We’re just taking it one day at a time from now on,” she said.