On March 10, Hawaii was hit with a Kona low that caused severe flooding, damaging homes, roads and vehicles. Four days after the five-day storm, Hawaii prepped for a rare repeat Kona low.
Now, as the storms have passed, residents are tasked with recovering from the devastation, the worst in more than 20 years, officials say.
The worst effects came on the North Shore of the island of Oahu.
“On average, one to two Kona storms affect Hawaii each season. However, it is extremely rare for two Kona storms to impact the islands within the same month, especially in the span of a week, “said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
A Kona low is a winter phenomenon that follows a series of planetary waves moving around the globe. The systems don’t always hit Hawaii but are present every year.
“We’re a small target in the big ocean. They may be 600 miles to the west or the east,” said Matthew Foster, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu
Evacuation orders were put out for about 5,500 people north of Honolulu and 200 were rescued from catastrophic flooding, authorities said. Following the second storm, evacuation notices were lifted, but flood watch remained through the weekend.
Power was proactively turned off for more than 2,000 people ahead of the devastating storm and was later restored following the devastation as repairs were made, The Associated Press reported.
As of right now, no deaths have been reported.
Footage of the flood from USA Today shows inundated communities where water ravaged through, destroying homes and anything in sight.
Recovery efforts underway
The threat of storms has since passed but recovery efforts continue as state and county crews assess damage, clear debris and restore impacted infrastructure, a statement from Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said.
The governor also said the damages could total $1 billion as the state recovers from damages to homes, roads, schools, airports and a Maui hospital.
No exact number of damaged or destroyed homes has been reported but homes still standing are filled with standing water. Even when water levels subside, homes are still left with “a ton of mud.”
“Everyone’s kind of in the street, just shoveling out mud and pulling out soaking debris and doing whatever they can to kind of start drying things out,” Wailua Beach resident Mac Burton told NBC News.
Wood homes that are still standing will be left with mold and water damage, he added.
Jason Momoa, who lives primarily in North Shore, has stepped in with disaster relief. The well-known actor made a video that talked about his evacuation and expressed his wishes for “everyone to stay safe out there.”
Momoa also helped organize an effort to hand food out to the community. Zippy’s, his favorite restaurant, stepped in to help give a meal to those in need during the disaster.
The big picture
Affecting Oahu, Maui and the Big Island, the storm was felt most in North Shore, Oahu. The Honolulu Board of Water Supply issued a boil-water notice for North Shore residents as it cautioned the dangers of potential bacteria in the water. The agency could not say when water services would return.
Oahu is especially dear to Utahns as it is the island home to the Lāʻie Temple, the fifth dedicated temple owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It’s also home to the Polynesian Cultural Center and Brigham Young University-Hawaii.
Oahu is home to the vast majority of the 75,000 church members in Hawaii.
The governor urged residents to “remain cautious as conditions stabilize” and reminded that some areas are still experiencing flooding, road closures and infrastructure damage.
“The strength of Hawaii is our people,” Green said in a statement. “Throughout this storm, we saw neighbors helping neighbors, communities stepping up, and our emergency teams working tirelessly to keep everyone safe. I want to thank our essential workers and partners for their incredible dedication — and I am deeply grateful to the people of Hawaii for looking out for one another during this challenging time.”
Hawaii’s worst flooding in over 20 years
The storms caused the worst flooding the state has since the Manoa Flood in 2004, Green said. The 2004 flood tore through a residential area and into the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus.
Floodwater destroyed documents in Hamilton Library and damaged laboratories housing crucial experiments.