HONOLULU — Heavy rains sent muddy floodwaters through towns north of Honolulu, damaging and sweeping away homes, inundating streets and prompting evacuation orders for about 5,500 people as officials warned a 120‑year‑old dam could fail.
Emergency sirens sounded across Oahu’s North Shore after rising waters threatened communities downstream of the Wahiawa earthen dam, long regarded as vulnerable. Honolulu officials described the dam as “at risk of imminent failure.” There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries, but dozens — possibly hundreds — of homes were damaged, Mayor Rick Blangiardi said. Rescue crews searched by air and water for stranded people; officials said some operations were hindered by people flying personal drones over flooded areas.
Blangiardi called the destruction “catastrophic.” He and other officials said they were confident in the stability of the island’s dams overall but warned that unpredictable additional rainfall could change conditions. Gov. Josh Green described the situation as “very touch‑and‑go.”
The National Guard and Honolulu Fire Department airlifted 72 children and adults from a spring‑break youth camp at Our Lady of Keaau on Oahu’s west coast after floodwaters cut off the camp’s access road, city and camp officials said. One shelter at Waialua High and Intermediate School was itself evacuated because of flooding; about 185 people and 50 pets were to be bused to another evacuation center, though 54 remained in the shelter by midday.
On Maui, authorities issued an evacuation advisory for parts of Lahaina after nearby retention basins neared capacity; sections of those neighborhoods had been burned by the 2023 wildfire.
Parts of Oahu received 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) of rain overnight, and Kaala, the island’s highest peak, recorded nearly 16 inches (40 cm) in the past day, the National Weather Service said. Haleiwa and Waialua were under flash flood warnings, and most of the state was on a flood watch. The storms are associated with winter systems called “Kona lows,” which bring southerly or southwesterly winds loaded with moisture. Climate scientists say the intensity and frequency of heavy rains in Hawaii have increased with human‑caused warming.
Residents said the aging Wahiawa dam is a concern whenever heavy rain hits. Built in 1906 to support sugar operations and reconstructed after a 1921 collapse, the earthen dam has been on the state’s radar for years. Records show the state sent Dole Food Company, which has owned the land, four notices of deficiency since 2009 and fined the company $20,000 five years ago for not addressing safety issues on time. Dole has said the dam “continues to operate as designed with no indications of damage.”
Dole previously proposed donating the dam, reservoir and ditch system to the state if the state would repair the spillway. In 2023 the legislature authorized the state to acquire the property and provided $5 million to buy the spillway and $21 million to repair and expand it to meet dam safety standards, but the transfer has not been completed. A state board is scheduled to vote on the acquisition next week.
Hawaii regulates 132 dams, most originally built for irrigation during the sugar cane era, according to a 2019 report by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Officials have monitored dam levels since a storm last week caused catastrophic flooding that washed away roads and homes; a weaker but similar system was forecast to bring more rain through the weekend.