Roadways and buildings remain submerged. Some homes have been swept away. And emergency crews have conducted at least 200 rescues on Oahu, Hawaii’s most populous island, which has experienced its worst flooding in 20 years.
More rain is expected across the island on Saturday, bringing with it the risk of additional flooding. No deaths have been reported, but evacuation orders remain in effect along Oahu’s North Shore, where thousands of residents are waiting anxiously to return their homes.
Gov. Josh Green of Hawaii said that an additional four to six inches of rain were expected on Oahu through the weekend as the storm moved south toward Maui. There, officials expected four to eight inches of rain, and as many as 12 inches in some areas.
“There will definitely concerns about flooding there,” Mr. Green said, imploring residents not to drive through heavy water.
Officials were continuing to monitor the dam on the Wahiawa Reservoir in northern Oahu on Saturday. It had been at risk of failure on Friday, officials said, as rain swelled the water to a record 85.10 feet, within five feet of the top of the 90-foot-tall dam.
On Saturday morning, the water level had dropped to about 81 feet, the governor said. The dam, he said, was “solid,” but it continued to threaten communities like Waialua and Haleiwa on the North Shore, where roughly 5,500 people remained evacuated.
Flash flood warnings were still in place for northern Oahu, and new ones were issued in parts of Maui and for the nearby island of Molokai, the National Weather Service said.
Residents remained hunkered down at shelters and motels across northern Oahu, worrying about what they might find when they returned home.
Emily McLaughlin, 59, was cleaning out her flooded car in the parking lot of a shelter set up at Wahiawa District Park, as her friend’s black Chihuahua, Satan, barked madly inside. She was at her home in Waialua late Thursday when she received an emergency alert on her phone.
“You dismiss those if you live here forever,” she said.
But then she went down to her kitchen to find water gushing through the door. The water quickly rose to her knees, and she was forced to flee, taking just minutes to gather what little she could.
“I didn’t even grab my husband’s ashes, his medals from the Navy. I just left. I had to,” she said through tears. She was sure her husband’s ashes had not survived the flood.
“So this is my new home for a while,” she said, as she opened her car door. Brown water puddled on the floor as the dog kept barking. “I’ll rebuild,” she said.
Hawaii Emergency Management Agency officials said on Saturday that damage assessments on Oahu were ongoing as they waited for the storm to pass, but area residents described a ravaged landscape. Low-lying farmlands and homes that are usually green and lush were instead immersed in brown floodwater and strewed with a morass of debris, abandoned vehicles and collapsed structures. Household items and trash covered the island’s beaches.
Officials described an all-hands-on-deck response that has included members of the public. Communities have come together to coordinate rescues, as well as mutual aid and debris cleanup efforts.
“It was the community that had these bulldozers, and heavy machinery,” said Dave Wassel, the lieutenant for the North Shore District of Honolulu Ocean Safety. “They went into areas where we couldn’t get to and got people out, and brought them to us. They cleared dirt and water and debris, broken houses. They rescued women and children.”
He added: “It’s not their job, and it was just amazing to see. That’s what this place is. That’s Hawaii.”
Reporting was contributed by Libby Leonard, and Jack Truesdale and Claire Wilcox from Oahu.
Orlando Mayorquín is a Times reporter covering California. He is based in Los Angeles.
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