DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
A crane lifts a load of vegetation out of Moanalua Stream, just makai of Moanalua Freeway. The stream overflowed recently, damaging businesses in the Mapunapuna area.
Isles gearing up
for more heavy rains
due to start today
The state, city and some Mapunapuna businesses took precautions yesterday to guard against heavy rains from a low-pressure system that is expected to set in over the state tonight and stick around for up to a week.
National Weather Service lead forecaster Bob Farrell said that the upcoming storm is comparable in expected rain levels to one that hit the state early this month, flooding several Mapunapuna businesses and causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage there.
But he said it is still too early to tell what areas will be hit hardest by the rain.
"We don't know if it will happen in Mapunapuna or Waikiki," he said, "but we know it will happen somewhere."
State Civil Defense officials advise residents, especially those in flood-prone areas, to prepare for the rain and take precautions, including parking cars in high areas, away from streams or where water collects, and evacuating if flooding poses a health or safety hazard.
Yesterday, city maintenance crews were clearing Moanalua Stream, which some have speculated backed up and was responsible for sending mud and debris over streets and parking lots in Moanalua after heavy rain on Dec. 7 and 8.
The city has also postponed Sunset on the Beach, Waikiki's popular outdoor food-and-movie festival, because of the weather advisory.
Deborah Ward, spokeswoman with the state Department of Land & Natural Resources, said her agency is "monitoring what the city is doing."
She said the department will also "work with state Civil Defense to monitor the situation as the weather picture evolves over the weekend and provide technical assistance and help in the event it's needed."
Fabian Pereda, the chef at Bob's Big Boy Restaurant, a Paa Street restaurant that was flooded earlier this month, said he is aware of the weather warnings and glad to see the city clearing the stream.
"The river was still full the first time. This hopefully won't overflow this time, because that's what really caused the flood," Pereda said. "It's kind of a little bit of a relief."
Ron Uemura, owner of Ron's Auto Parts in Mapunapuna, said he had yet to go through the inventory that was damaged by the last storm when he heard about the upcoming rains.
"I'm hoping that nothing happens because if it floods, I'm going to get flooded anyway regardless," said Uemura, who has decided to keep his remaining inventory 18 inches off the ground as a precaution.
"If the river flows well and we do have storm, I still get a real good chance of getting flooded," he said.
Farrell said the storm -- expected to develop west of the state -- will hit Kauai first today and settle over the entire state by evening. He said the rains could mean flash flooding, especially if the system stays "on a given spot on a given island."
John Cummings III, spokesman for Oahu Civil Defense, said that an alert from the National Weather Service prompted his office to keep on top of the storm.
"Any time we have a condition like that, at least from the emergency management side, we kind of perk up our ears and we lean forward in our foxholes, so to speak, to see what we can do to possibly mitigate any problems," he said.
Cummings said the difference between the earlier storm system and the one that is forecast is that the predicted storm has been preceded by dry weather.
Much of the flooding earlier this month came "from a previous period of saturation, so part of the ground couldn't take any more water," he said. "But it's been pretty dry the last couple of weeks, so hopefully, if we do get a lot of rain this weekend, it will just either percolate down or run off and we shouldn't see a whole lot of problems."
Cummings said residents in low-lying areas should keep aware of weather conditions.
"That stream that was a trickle yesterday can become a raging torrent very fast," he said.
Cummings also said children should not be allowed to play along streams or near drainage ditches during and after rains.
Oahu Civil Defense officials have also warned motorists not to drive through flooded areas. If a car stalls in a flooded area, its occupants should abandon the vehicle because floodwaters can rise rapidly and sweep a car and its occupants away, Cummings said.
