My wife and I have spent a lot of time on Kaua’i, and we love the place and the people we know there.
An earthen dam broke yesterday, causing a flood that has washed out the Kuhio Highway, destroyed several houses, and taken several lives.
Here’s a collection of photos from the newspaper The Garden Island showing the damage.
Our friend Don Mussell, who works on KKCR’s transmitter and other equipment and spends a lot of time on the island, has been keeping us abreast of events.
Bad news from the north shore today. A reservoir failed this morning at around 5:30 AM after 4 inches of rain fell in a few hours overnight. A wall of water 15 feet high and 1/2 mile wide came roaring through
the Waiakalua area. 7 people are missing, 4 houses were washed away, Highway 50 is gone (washed away, asphalt, rock, roadbed, everything) for about 1/4 mile between Kilauea and Moloa’a. Power lines are down, and the coast guard has been offshore looking for survivors. The water broke through an earth dam that has been in place for over 100 years, after overtopping it sometime in the early morning.KKCR radio is on the air providing updates as they become available. One of the rescue staff is on the air this morning, after being on standby all night. The north shore of Kaua’i has received a huge amount of rain in the past week, around 25 inches from reports I have seen.