“Saturated” Kaua‘i lands, the result of continuous days of rain since Sunday, led to the closure of the Hanalei bridge, caused a one-hour delay in finishing up the first night of Wainiha bridge work, and flooding from Po‘ipu to Ha‘ena,
“Saturated” Kaua‘i lands, the result of continuous days of rain since Sunday, led to the closure of the Hanalei bridge, caused a one-hour delay in finishing up the first night of Wainiha bridge work, and flooding from Po‘ipu to Ha‘ena, officials said
Many sections of the island have been under flash-flood watches or warnings this week, and rainfall was heavy from Wai‘ale‘ale to Lihu‘e to Kalaheo.
“A lot of places are saturated already,” increasing the chances of widespread flooding, said Brad Fujii, National Weather Service forecaster on O‘ahu, yesterday. The heavy rain at Wai‘ale‘ale, upper Wailua and other places had to flow somewhere on its way to the ocean, and flooding was reported in Po‘ipu, Hanalei, Lihu‘e, and many other areas, he said.
Heavy rainfall was reported yesterday especially on the North Shore, where the one-lane bridge over the Hanalei River was flooded, closing the road yesterday morning for a few hours and effectively isolating all those on the western side of the bridge.
Heavy flooding also impacted a portion of Waha Road in Lawa‘i yesterday, said Cyndi Mei Ozaki, county public information officer.
Heavy rains Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning filled up a hole dug to place a new underground tank for a planned gas station on Kawaihau Road in Kapahi. That tank began floating in its hole, and had to be removed with cranes after a plan to fill it up with water to attempt to sink it was abandoned.
The clouds were expected to clear overnight into this morning, with “more typical tradewind weather” forecast to return, Fujii said.
Heavy rain was scattered across the island the last several days, with Wai‘ale‘ale and an area on the Hanalei River receiving over three inches of rain in the 24-hour period ending 5 a.m. yesterday, and over five inches of rain since Sunday.
Wailua received over five inches of rain in 48 hours Monday and Tuesday, and Lihu‘e and Kalaheo felt over three inches of rain during that same period.
And in case you’re keeping score, there was 0.00 inches of rainfall at Makaha Ridge near the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility while the rest of the island was getting drenched yesterday.
Paul C. Curtis, associate editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
