5,500 Evacuate in Hawaii as 120-Year-Old Dam Nears Failure

Muddy floodwaters from severe rains inundated streets, pushed homes off their foundations, swallowed vehicles, and prompted evacuation orders for thousands of residents in towns north of Honolulu on Friday as officials warned of the possible failure of a 120-year-old dam.

Emergency sirens blared along Oahu's North Shore, where rising waters damaged homes in a community world-renowned for its surfing. Honolulu officials told residents Friday morning to leave the area downstream of Wahiawa dam, saying it was "at risk of imminent failure."

There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries, but some homes had been swept away, said Ian Scheuring, a spokesperson for Honolulu. Crews searched by air and by water for people who had been stranded — efforts that were hampered by people flying personal drones to get images of the flooding, he said.

During an afternoon news conference, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said dozens — if not hundreds — of homes had been damaged. Officials had not been able to fully assess the destruction due to the floodwaters.

Some 5,500 people were under evacuation orders.

"There's no question that the damage done thus far has been catastrophic," he said.

Blangiardi said officials felt confident in the stability of the dams on the island, but that it was hard to predict how much rain would come and what it might do.

The National Guard was airlifting about 70 children and adults who had been attending a spring break youth camp at a retreat on Oahu's west coast called Our Lady of Kea'au, according to city and camp officials. The camp is on high ground but authorities didn't want to leave them there, the mayor said.

Kimberly R.Y. Vierra, a spokesperson for St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawai'i, which runs the camp, said floodwaters had cut off the main access road.

On Maui, officials issued an evacuation advisory for some Lahaina neighborhoods after nearby retention basins neared capacity. The county said crews were redirecting and pumping water to keep levels safe.

Parts of those neighborhoods were burned by the massive wildfire that destroyed much of Lahaina in 2023.

Officials have been watching dam levels since a storm last week dumped heavy rain across the state, which led to catastrophic flooding that washed away roads and homes. After the worst of it, a similar but weaker storm was forecast to bring more rain through this weekend.

"It's going to be a very touch-and-go day," Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in a social media post.

Most of the state was under a flood watch, with northern Oahu under a flash flood warning, according to the National Weather Service, which reported "widespread life-threatening flash flooding," particularly in Haleiwa and Waialua.

One shelter at Waialua High and Intermediate School was evacuated because of flooding, Scheuring said. There were about 185 people and 50 pets there who needed to be bused to another evacuation center, but by midday 54 people still remained in the shelter.

Parts of Oahu received 8 to 12 inches of rain overnight, further saturating the ground after the storm last weekend. Kaala, the island's highest peak, got nearly 16 inches in the past day, on top of 26.6 inches between March 10 and 16, the National Weather Service said.

Winter storm systems known as "Kona lows," which feature southerly or southwesterly winds that bring in moisture-laden air, were responsible for the deluges. The intensity and frequency of heavy rains in Hawaii have increased, experts say.

As she prepared to evacuate to a friend's home on higher ground, Waialua resident Kathleen Pahinui told The Associated Press in a phone interview that the aging Wahiawa dam is a concern every time it rains.

"Just pray for us," she said. "We understand there's more rain coming."

The state has said the dam has "high hazard potential" and that a failure "will result in probable loss of human life."

The earthen dam was built in 1906 to increase sugar production for the Waialua Agricultural Company, which eventually became a subsidiary of Dole Food Company. It was reconstructed following a collapse in 1921.

In the past few years, Dole agreed to transfer ownership of the dam to the state, which wants to make more than $20 million in improvements, but the transfer isn't complete. The state has been warning Dole since 2009 that the upgrades were needed, the nonprofit news organization Honolulu Civil Beat reported Friday.

"The dam continues to operate as designed with no indications of damage," the company said in an emailed statement.

The state regulates 132 dams across Hawaii, most of them built as part of irrigation systems for the sugar cane industry, according to a 2019 infrastructure report by the American Society of Civil Engineers.