Flooding forces
evacuations
Some Pearl City residents are
trapped when a road
becomes a riverIn Waialua, about 50 people along
Kaupe Road evacuate their homesNo trace of North Kohala hiker
By Jaymes K. Song
WEATHER FORECAST
Star-BulletinOahu residents evacuated their homes this morning as heavy rains, accompanied by spectacular thunder and lightning, created problems here and on other islands for a second day in a row.
In Waialua, about 50 people living in 20 homes along Kaupe Road followed the advice of police and firefighters and evacuated at about 6:30 a.m. when a nearby stream flooded, putting some of their lawns under two or more feet of water.
Meanwhile, flooding trapped several Pearl City residents who live near Lehua Elementary School when a dirt road near their homes turned into "a river" and was impassable, Fire Capt. Richard Soo said.
The families had been asked by fire crews to evacuate, but they elected to stay, Soo said.
Pacific Palisades, the closest National Weather Service rain gauge to the location, recorded 1.5 inches of rain falling in four hours.
Several families also were trapped in their homes near the Waiawa Sewage Pumping Station when the Waiawa Stream flooded. One area resident, Kelvin Nakasone, said flood waters at some spots near the station's retaining wall reached heights of 10 feet.
The Nakasone family declined pontoon rides out of the area offered by the Fire Department. Nakasone said a homeless man who lived in a van along the stream was missing. The van had been washed out, he said.
The Waialua evacuees went to the Waialua District Park, where they were assisted by Red Cross emergency teams. They started returning to their homes at about 10 a.m.
One of those who chose not to evacuate was Rodney Lobitos, who came home from work because he was worried about his 3-month-old daughter and his wife.
Lobitos, who was already busy cleaning Christmas ornaments, trash and other debris, said his yard was under three feet of water at one point.
Gary Daneau, a neighbor, said water rose as fast as six inches in 10 minutes and lapped over two of his front steps. If it went up one more step, he would have "turned off the electricity and hit the road," he said.Police Sgt. Ben Ballesteros said the nearby Kaukonahua Stream is fed by Wilson Dam, where water had risen four feet above normal levels.
An urban and small stream flood advisory was in effect on Oahu this morning, but was canceled at 7 a.m.
Other areas of Oahu, such as Nuuanu, recorded as much four inches of rain in four hours, said Bob Larson, a weather service meteorologist.
At one point, Maunalua and Manoa had about two inches falling per hour, although the rainfall was sporadic.
Haleakala facility hit
On Maui, lightning bolts blew out an electrical transformer in Wailuku and struck an observatory at a deep-space tracking facility at the summit of Haleakala, according to initial reports from Maui Electric Company, Ltd.
"They just took a direct hit on the dome," said Maui Electric dispatch supervisor Stephen Bianco.
Bianco said the facilities at the summit seem to be having power problems and a number of them are operating with emergency generators.
Bianco said lightning struck a transformer at Lunalilo Street close to the National Guard armory in Wailuku at 10:29 last night but did not disable electrical service.
A bolt of lightning struck the observatory dome close to 5 a.m. today.
Bianco said the lightning storm is unusual because it's so widespread.
"We still have some flashes," he said.
He said employees were traveling to the summit to assess the damage.
Big Island flood warning
On the Big Island, occasionally heavy rains accompanied by lightning lashed Hilo and surrounding areas during the night but caused only temporary flooding on some roads, police said.
"There have been significant rains for short periods," said Will LaPlante at the Hilo office of the National Weather Service. No rainfall figures were immediately available.
LaPlante said a flood advisory for all of east Hawaii was issued during the night, canceled, and renewed at 5:45 a.m.
The advisory means heavy rains are falling at the moment, LaPlante said.
A flash flood watch was also issued for the area, meaning flooding could occur even after rains let up, he said.
At Hawaii County Civil Defense, Wendell Hatada said the agency was receiving numerous calls from parents wanting to know if schools would be open.
No schools are closed, he said.
No problems were reported on Kauai.
Low pressure is the culprit
The thunder, lightning and rain is caused by a low pressure system directly above the islands in the upper atmosphere, Larson said.
The cool air is making the atmosphere unstable. Combined with tradewinds, the conditions are very favorable for thunderstorms, he said.
The thunderstorms, which on Oahu were focused over the Koolau Mountains, were moving west and were dying down as the morning rush hour began.
Police responded to falling rocks and debris on Pali Highway caused by the rain, but no major incidents were reported.
Lightning strikes are believed to have caused several power outages around Oahu today.
Electrical failures were reported at about 1 a.m. in Waiau, Mililani, Kahuku, Wahiawa and Waialua, said Hawaiian Electric Co. spokesman Fred Kobashikawa.
However, most of those were momentary outages.
Pacific Palisades was without power for several hours starting at about 3 a.m. A car crash also caused an outage in Makaha.
Yesterday, lightning strikes caused power outages in Hauula and Lanikai.
Larson said the weather system is not rare, but having it right above the islands doesn't happen very often.
Forecasters predict the weather will be calm down by tomorrow and clear up by Saturday.
Star-Bulletin writers Gordon Y. K. Pang,
Rod Thompson and Gary T. Kubota
contributed to this report.
No trace found of hiker
By Rod Thompson
missing in North Kohala
Star-BulletinPOLOLU VALLEY, Hawaii -- Five helicopters searched unsuccessfully yesterday for a hiker missing on the rugged North Kohala coast between Pololu and Waipio valleys, the Fire Department said.
The search was for John Reese, 22, of Puna. A county helicopter and four choppers from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources searched yesterday, the Fire Department said.
Reese hitchhiked Thanksgiving Day from Puna to the northern end of the island to hike the coast, and was expected to be back at work on Monday, said his boss, Paul Banko of the U.S. Geological Survey's Biological Resources Division.
He was carrying a tent, sleeping bag and rain gear.
Banko's agency notified police when Reese failed to return Monday, and police put out an all-points bulletin in case he walked out of the valleys and began hitchhiking home.
The muddy, overgrown trail along the coast is crossed by numerous mountain streams, and authorities suspect Reese's progress has been blocked by flooding caused by recent rains.
