Floods shut Big Isle
schools, roads

Conditions on Maui and
the Big Island should clear
today, forecasters predict

Roads and six schools in Kona were closed yesterday because of flooding from heavy rain in the early morning.

Heavy rain hits Maui and Big Isle Areas with the most rainfall (in inches) in 24 hours (as of 5:45 p.m.) yesterday: Maui >> Kaupo Gap, 6.03 >> Oheo Gulch, 3.47 >> Ulupalakua, 2.22 Big Island >> Kainaliu Upper, 5.10 >> Kealakekua, 4.53 >> Pali 2, 4.04 >> Honaunau, 3.18 >> Waiaha, 2.95 Source: National Weather Service Current Hawaii weather

All the islands have been on a flash-flood watch since Monday mainly because the remnants of Tropical Depression Darby were passing through, said Kevin Kodama, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service.

"Things should be getting better," Kodama said. "It's (the storm) moving west toward the rest of the chain ... but we should see improved conditions."

Conditions on the Big Island and Maui should clear today, but forecasters aren't sure about the rest of the islands, he said.

Flooding was the worst in the Kealakekua and Captain Cook areas, said Big Island Mayor Harry Kim.

Police closed St. John's Road in Kealakekua and all lanes of two sections of Mamalahoa Highway north of Konawaena High School about 6 a.m., where the roads were flooded, said fire Capt. Tony Guillermo. Police diverted traffic until just before 9 a.m., when they opened the roads again after clearing debris.

Civil Defense officials closed Hookena and Honaunau elementary schools, Ke Kula o Ehunuikaimalino and Konawaena elementary, middle and high schools yesterday because of water runoff that damaged some buildings.

All schools will be open tomorrow except for Konawaena Middle School, which suffered the most damage, Kim said.

Sixteen classrooms, the library and the media room were flooded in the middle school, said Principal Nancy Soderberg. The library was hit the worst, with 5 inches of water that damaged the bottom shelf of the bookcases and books for the school's September book fair.

Faculty and staff, including firefighters and some employees from the high school, worked yesterday to move furniture and mop up rooms, which they will continue today, hoping to dry the classrooms and have them open by tomorrow, Soderberg said. No computers or major materials were damaged, she said.

"This is way worse than last Sunday's flood," Soderberg said. On July 25, heavy rains flooded 14 classrooms, which teachers and staff cleaned over the weekend before school started.

It started raining heavily about 2 a.m. in the North Kona district, Kim said. About 3 to 5 inches of rain were dumped on Kealakekua and Captain Cook, Kodama said.

There was flooding in the surrounding residential areas and in the commercial Kailua-Kona areas, which reported water damage but no structure or property road damages, Kim said.

In the remote rural cattle region of southeastern Maui, the road at Nu'u was closed last night due to flooding, according to Maui Civil Defense.

Kaupo General Store proprietor Linda Domen, whose store overlooks the Kaupo Gap at Haleakala Crater, said rain fell Monday night and for about half a day yesterday.

But she said the rain hasn't been overwhelming at her store and comes at a good time because the pasture grass was turning brown.