HONOLULU — Heavy rains drove muddy floodwaters through communities north of Honolulu, damaging and washing away homes, flooding streets and forcing authorities to order about 5,500 people to evacuate as a roughly 120‑year‑old earthen dam was reported at risk of failing.
Emergency sirens sounded across Oahu’s North Shore after rising water levels endangered downstream areas below the Wahiawa dam, long considered vulnerable. City officials described the structure as “at risk of imminent failure.” There were no immediate confirmed deaths or serious injuries, but Mayor Rick Blangiardi said dozens — and possibly hundreds — of houses were damaged. Rescue teams searched by air and water for stranded residents; some operations were slowed because people flew personal drones over flooded zones.
Blangiardi called the damage “catastrophic.” He and other local leaders expressed confidence in the overall stability of the island’s dam system but warned that additional unpredictable rain could worsen conditions. Gov. Josh Green called the situation “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, officials said. One evacuation shelter at Waialua High and Intermediate School was itself flooded and had to be moved; about 185 people and 50 pets were scheduled to be bused to a different center, though 54 remained at the original shelter by midday.
On Maui, authorities issued an evacuation advisory for parts of Lahaina after nearby retention basins neared capacity; some of those neighborhoods were among those burned in 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 last day, the National Weather Service said. Flash‑flood warnings were in effect for Haleiwa and Waialua, and most of the state was on a flood watch. Forecasters said the storms are linked to winter “Kona low” systems, which bring moisture‑laden southerly winds. Climate scientists note that human‑driven warming has increased the frequency and intensity of heavy rainfall events in Hawaii.
Residents have long been concerned about the aging Wahiawa dam. Built in 1906 to support sugar operations and rebuilt after a 1921 collapse, the earthen structure has been monitored by state regulators for years. Records show the state issued Dole Food Company, which owns the land, four notices of deficiency since 2009 and fined the company $20,000 several years ago for not addressing safety issues in a timely way. Dole has said the dam “continues to operate as designed with no indications of damage.”
Dole previously offered to donate 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 allocated $5 million to purchase the spillway and $21 million to repair and expand it to meet dam safety standards, but the transfer has not been finalized. A state board is scheduled to vote on the acquisition next week.
Hawaii oversees 132 dams, most built for irrigation during the sugar‑cane era, according to a 2019 report by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Officials have been monitoring dam levels closely since a storm last week caused severe flooding that washed away roads and homes; a similar but weaker system was forecast to bring more rain through the weekend.