VIDEO: Kaua‘i Relief Efforts Continue Following Weekend Floods

The Flash Flood Watch for Kaua‘i was cancelled this morning, but relief efforts and search and rescue operations continue in the North Shore community following record-breaking rains, flooding and thunderstorms over the weekend.

Kūhiō Highway, in the vicinity of the Hanalei Bridge, remains closed until the bridge can be inspected and deemed safe.

VC: US Coast Guard / Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Verdura

Officials are also reporting continued road closures and are assessing the following areas:

· Weke Road in the vicinity of Black Pot Beach due to a sinkhole;
· The south-bound lane is open on Kūhiō Highway on the Wailua Bridge;
· Severe erosion closed the mauka portion of Kahiliholo Road at Kalihiwai Ridge;
· Kūhiō Highway, between Waikoko and Wainiha, due to multiple landslides;
· Hanalei Plantation Road in Princeville due to a sinkhole.

Kalihiwai Reservoir had reached near capacity as of 3:30 p.m. yesterday. As a safety precaution, the low-lying areas of Kalihiwai Valley along Kalihiwai Valley Road and near Kalihiwai Stream were evacuated. There is no active threat at this time as water appears to be receded, but the evacuation remains in effect until further notice.

The American Red Cross has closed a shelter at Kōloa Elementary School, and school will commence today. An evacuation shelter remains open at Hanalei Elementary School and the Church of the Pacific in Princeville. The shelter at Kapa‘a Middle School has been closed.

The Department of Education has announced that Hanalei Elementary School will be closed today, Monday, April 16. As a result of the school closure, no school busses will be operating for students residing in Hanalei, Wainiha or Hā‘ena who attend Kapa‘a Middle and Kapa‘a High School. Additionally, DOE reports that due to inclement weather conditions and road conditions, bus transportation services will not be operating for students residing in Keapana (Valley Area) who attend Kapaa Elementary, Kapa‘a Middle and Kapa‘a High schools. This notice is only for the students living in the Keapana Valley area.

Both on-duty and off-duty emergency personnel have performed a number of rescues and evacuations since Saturday night. The exact number of rescues are not yet known and no major injuries have been reported at this time.

The state Department of Transportation and the county Public Works Roads Division continue to work to clear landslides and debris that have occurred in multiple locations between Kalihiwai and Wainiha.

The Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative restored power in the Kalāheo-Lāwa‘I area. Additionally, extended outages are continuing from Hanalei to Hā‘ena.

The Department of Water announces a water service outage for Hā‘ena, Wainiha and some Hanalei customers until further notice. We are deploying the appropriate crews to assess and attempt to reestablish power and water service to homes. Affected customers are advised to collect rain water to use for non-potable water needs.

The water conservation notice from Princeville Utilities Co., Inc. continues for all its customers in Princeville, Anini Vista, Kalihiwai Bay Estates, Kapaka Road and Hanalei Plantation Road. Severe inclement weather has affected the emergency repairs response to the well which will result in depletion of the storage tank supply. There is currently no available timeline for water service restoration or service repairs at this time due to the inaccessibility of the area.

The Kaua‘i Emergency Management Emergency Operations Center has been activated since early Saturday morning and the governor issued an emergency proclamation for the island on Sunday.