Rare Kona Storm Pummels Hawaii With Historic Flooding and Mudslides
A massive Kona low has been pummeling the Hawaiian Islands all week, and it's heavy — especially in Maui. Throughout the past two days in particular, I kept seeing footage of the storm on different people's Instagram stories and it just kept getting worse. The storm is still raging and lots of damage has already been done.
Governor Josh Green has declared a statewide State of Emergency as emergency crews race to pull people from rising floodwaters across multiple islands.
It was already a very wet winter for Hawaii and this latest storm isn't just typical rainy season showers, what's happening is actually quite rare. A deep subtropical cyclone stalled northwest of the archipelago and essentially parked an atmospheric river of tropical moisture directly over the islands — dumping 1 to 3 inches of rain per hour in the hardest-hit zones, with some areas receiving several feet of rain in just 48 hours.
Waterfalls have sprung everywhere and flooding is rampant and the typically deep blue ocean has turned a stark shade of brown. Evacuation orders were in place for multiple flood zones and it was all hands on deck in danger zones. Honolulu firefighters pulled off a dramatic rescue near Kaimukī High School, plucking four people and a dog off bridge pillars as floodwaters quickly rose. In Waialua, residents of Ōtake Camp were ordered to evacuate as Kaukonahua Stream surged and swallowed homes and vehicles whole.
Maui got it even worse and locals describe that whole the island feels like it's is underwater. The steep slopes around Haleakalā turned into walls of mud, rock and debris moving at terrifying speed. Some are calling it the worst rainstorm in the island's modern history
The legendary Hāna Highway — all the hundreds of curves and dozens of bridges on it — suffered multiple structural failures. Landslides at Twin Falls and Keʻanae have completely cut off the remote community of Hāna from the rest of the island.
The last update from the County of Maui Government was, "A powerful kona storm continues to hit Maui County, forcing widespread road closures and property damage from flooding, landslides, sinkholes, downed power lines and other impacts. National Weather Service (NWS) anticipates severe weather will continue through Sunday for Maui County. Maui Fire Department conducted floodwater rescues overnight in South Maui; also last night, dozens of people, who are now at a shelter, were cut off in Hāna due to road washout. Over the last 14 hours, some areas received more than 20 inches of rain (Kula) and wind gusts more than 70 mph (Kaunakakai), according to NWS."