GARY T. KUBOTA / GKUBOTA@STARBULLETIN.COM A flash flood in the Polipoli Road area in Kula, Maui, damaged the home owned by Henry Lau and his wife, shown in this photo taken yesterday.

Maui officials seek disaster declaration

STORY SUMMARY »

Maui County officials are still assessing damage from this week's storm that caused a flash flood in Kula and electrical and water failures throughout the island.

County spokeswoman Mahina Martin said the county will seek a disaster declaration and aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

On Oahu some 650 Hawaiian Electric Co. customers scattered islandwide were still without power -- most of them since Tuesday, when heavy rain and wind toppled electric poles. But some still could be without power on Monday, a spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service says rain should continue today as the storm system moves away from the islands.

FULL STORY »

KULA, Maui » Winona Tavares-Shim looked at the collapsed garage roof of a neighbor's home in Polipoli caused by a flash flood and shook her head.

"What happened is the gulch gets used for trash. They throw all the brush and trees into the gulch," said Tavares-Shim, a longtime resident.

Residents are cleaning up debris from the massive wall of water, rock, mud and debris, including logs and trees, that swept through the area Wednesday. The flooding swept one house 100 feet from its foundation.

County officials are still working on damage estimates from the storm and looking at its impact on Lanai and Molokai, as well as remote rural areas such as Kaupo and Kahikunui.

County spokeswoman Mahina Martin said the county will seek a disaster declaration and aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

She said once the disaster assessment is completed, it will be forwarded to state Civil Defense and the Governor's Office for their recommendation.

The American Red Cross found 142 Maui residents affected by the storm.

The cause of the flash flooding in the Polipoli and Waiohuli areas is under investigation, Martin said.

She said county officials have been looking at whether burned debris from a fire in the state forest reserve earlier this year might have contributed.

Martin said the county has had difficulty completing its investigation because the weather has prevented officials from making an aerial reconnaissance.

The county said several homes were damaged in the Hawaiian homestead subdivision of Waiohuli, including one that was destroyed when it was swept into a gulch.

State Department of Hawaiian Home Lands spokesman Lloyd Yonenaka said his department will be meeting with the families and seeing what it can do.

Waiohuli resident Perry Artates said he has lived in the area for 50 years and had never seen a flash flood of that magnitude.

Meanwhile, county officials are working to restore water service in Waiohuli and Keokea.

Deputy Water Director Jeff Eng said county workers are repairing three major breaks in transmission lines in Kula caused by storm damage.

Customers in Maui Meadows, Kula, Kihei and West Maui are asked to continue conserving water.

Maui Electric said power had been restored to 99 percent of the island as of 4 p.m.

Haleakala National Park spokesman Dominic Cardea said last night that park facilities were without power but that the road would be reopened to visitors today.

Heavy rain and a blustery wind continued all day yesterday on the Garden Isle, but no major damage had been reported, county officials said yesterday. But the annual "Lights on Rice Parade" and the tree lighting ceremony at the Historic County Building in Lihue was postponed. The American Red Cross found four Kauai residents affected by the weather.