CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM A city road crew cleaned up a landslide yesterday that forced the closure of Round Top Drive. A city spokesman said the landslide affected 100 feet of roadway and left a pile of dirt about 6 feet high.

Rain expected through next week

Thundershowers battered Kauai last night and were expected to settle over Oahu today, where heavy rains spurred two landslides early yesterday.

Also yesterday, lightning apparently toppled a Hawaiian Electric Co. pole on the H-2 freeway between Ka Uka Boulevard and the H-1 freeway, sending live wires onto the roadway. The incident just after 4 p.m. forced the freeway's closure in both directions for about a half-hour, creating a massive backup during rush-hour afternoon traffic.

A flash flood warning was in effect for Kauai last night. National Weather Service forecaster Norman Hui said a "line of heavy rain" drenching Kauai was expected to move over Oahu late last night or this morning.

The rains are expected to last through tomorrow. Hui said Saturday could be dry, but a new storm will pass over the islands starting Sunday night.

Rains from that system could last through Wednesday.

"We just keep getting this heavy rain," Hui said.

Since Feb. 19 the state has gotten six storms thanks to a series of low-pressure systems to the west of the islands. The systems suck up unstable air from the tropics, producing heavy thundershowers.

John Cummings, spokesman for Oahu Civil Defense, said the island has not had a chance to dry out between rains, which has increased the potential for flooding.

Heavy rains caused a landslide yesterday in the 2800 block of Round Top Drive at about 2:30 a.m. Cummings said the landslide affected 100 feet of roadway and left a pile of dirt about 6 feet high. The road was closed until about 9 a.m.

Also around 2:30 in the morning, there was a small landslide in Manoa when mud slipped down a hillside and into a yard on Puuhonua Street. Cummings said the resident's home was not affected.