HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii suffered its worst flooding in more than 20 years as heavy rains fell on soil already saturated by downpours from a winter storm a week ago, officials said Friday while warning that still more rain was expected during the weekend.
Muddy floodwaters smothered vast stretches of Oahu’s North Shore, a community world-renowned for its big-wave surfing. Raging waters lifted homes and cars and prompted evacuation orders for 5,500 people north of Honolulu. Authorities cautioned that a 120-year-old dam could fail.
Gov. Josh Green said the cost of the storm could top $1 billion, including damage to airports, schools, roads, people’s homes and a Maui hospital in Kula.
“This is going to have a very serious consequence for us as a state,” Green said at a news conference.
Most of the state was under a flood watch, with Haleiwa and Waialua in northern Oahu under a flash flood warning, according to the National Weather Service.