HONOLULU (KHON2) — It has been a wet start to the weekend for the western half of Hawaii, especially in Kauai County. The Garden Isle has to stay green somehow.
Flooding affected several roads from Kapa’a to Kekaha and stormy conditions also impacted a flight from Kauai to Oahu.
The Kauai Emergency management Agency said reports of large boulders on Koke’e Road is just one impact of heavy rain. The most significant closure was along Kuhio Highway.
“Approximately around 9 o’clock in the morning is when Kauai Police Department shut down Kuhio Highway at the Hanalei Bridge,” said Kauai Emergency Management Agency assistant administrator Solomon Kanoho. “Fortunately, it was early enough in the morning; so the road is closed. And, at that time, there’s no traffic being able to go in and out of that area.”
Officials said water levels sharply declined, but an emergency shelter will remain open at Hanalei Hala until the road is safe to travel. Residents told KHON2 that the Hanalei Bridge has seen issues in the past.
“That’s normal for over here, and that’s one reason I moved away from the North Shore, to be quite honest. Cause, I lived Ha’ena for 10 years and then Princeville Ag for 30,” said Wailua Homesteads resident Petrina Blakely.
Kauai has seen far worse, Kanoho said.
“Especially dating all the way back to 2018 when we had our major flood,” Kanoho said, “So, they’re pretty resilient; and it’s something that’s expected during heavy rain situations.”
On Oahu, Hawaiian Electric said about 5,000 customers in Mililani had their power knocked out due to lightning striking a power line around 10 a.m.
A Hawaiian Airlines flight from Lihue to Honolulu also had to pull up just seconds before touching down Saturday morning, Feb. 4.
“And, then, after, when we were about to reach the ground, that’s when the pilot suddenly went bac up, back into the air,” said Kira Abreu, “you can, like, feel a huge tug, like, it was, like, instant; and it was, like, your heart dropped.”
Hawaiian Airlines said the pilot went around for better conditions, and Abreu added that the second attempt went smoothly. Officials and residents both said — no matter where you are –stay tuned for weather alerts.
“When it’s flood warnings, it’s always kind of a good thing to hunker down and stay home if you can,” Blakely said.
“It might look sunny along the beach area, along the coast; but there could be rains happening or occurring in the interior that will cause flash flooding,” Kanoho said.