Flood cleanup begins

Windward neighbors band together to shovel debris and keep water at bay

Norman Bode found himself looking at the mud, rock and other debris that slid down a nearby hillside and into his home after this week's heavy rains drenched the Windward Coast.

Rainfall Totals Rainfall over the last 2 1/2 days ending at 5 p.m. yesterday: Punaluu: 22.7 inches Kualoa: 16 inches Kahuku: 12.8 inches Maunawili: 8.6 inches Wilson Tunnel: 7.5 inches

"I was just devastated," Bode said, surveying the brown goo that covered his back patio. "Oh ... where do you start, for God's sake!"

But the silver lining in this disaster came when dozens of Bode's Kaaawa Park Lane neighbors banded together to help him not only clean up the mess, but also protect him and his home from any further damage.

"It's great to have good neighbors," he said.

Shovels, pumps, hoses and human tenacity were prevalent throughout the rain-battered communities as residents worked to clean up the mess.

The weather service says an expected return of tradewind weather today should help rain-soaked areas of Kauai, Oahu and Maui begin to dry out from the three days of rain that dropped more than 22 inches of rain in Punaluu.

Tradewinds will help thin out high clouds that have been blocking the sun for almost a week, said Tom Birchard, a forecaster for the National Weather Service's Honolulu office. Leeward areas might actually see some sun today and tomorrow, while Windward and mauka areas could continue to see low cloud cover and some rain.

However, as soon as Monday or Tuesday, Kauai -- and possibly Oahu -- might see more significant rainfall.

Yesterday, a city dump truck and front-end loader worked in tandem to scrape mud and rocks that caked up along the back roads of Kaaawa, which was hit hard by the rains.

Adrienne H. and her sons Kyle, 14, and Noah, 10, were armed with shovels pushing mud mixed with kukui nuts and other debris into the road so the heavy equipment could haul it away.

It was a restless night for them and their black Labrador dogs, Malama and Bomber.

"It's very frustrating. There's a lot of cleanup to do, and basically everyone is in the same boat," Adrienne said.

Naalehu Anthony was pulling out of his mud-soaked driveway as his family was pushing out the rocks from their Kekio Road home carport.

Anthony said he believed that the water problem is the result of Kamehameha Highway blocking the mauka waters from reaching the ocean.

"The reason it backs up is because the highway acts as a dam," Anthony said. "There's not enough culverts in the dam."

Others, like Glenn Keo, who lived in a Huamalani home that lost part of its property to raging Makaua Stream, said part of the problem is people throwing grass clippings and other rubbish into streams.

Others said the state neglected to keep the drainage canals clean of rubbish.

Scott Ishikawa, Department of Transportation spokesman, who was with transportation crews inspecting whether the Makaua Bridge along Kamehameha Highway was clear of debris, said the state has worked hard to try to keep streams and drainage canals along state highways free of things that could obstruct the flow of water.

"I think the state and city are doing its best to keep the culverts clear," he said.

The problem this week was that a lot of rain fell over a long period of time, and state crews were fighting a losing battle to clear debris.

"It's difficult to keep the culverts clear when it's raining cats and dogs," Ishikawa said.

And, he said, because places like Kaaawa and Waiahole are just a foot above sea level, adding more culverts to Kamehameha could cause a problem when there are high seas.

"You might have ocean water backing up into your property," Ishikawa said.

Ishikawa said state transportation crews spent the day checking bridges and clearing debris.

Bode said the landslide that went into his property came with a wide expanse of water, bringing mud and debris a foot high.

"I'm just overwhelmed. It's just a monumental thing," he said.

His neighbors not only helped him shovel up the debris, but also carved a pathway away from his house so the water would be kept at bay.

He was up most of the previous night, jumping whenever he heard more rain.

"I kept thinking that more rocks would come down," he said.

The next day, his neighbors were back again. As he looked around his property, neighbor Destrey Runyon was cleaning his carpets, and Dave Rose was helping to clear rocks from his driveway.

The night before, he stayed up with his friends. "We just drank beer and talked about how lucky we are."

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