NPR
Over 4,000 told to evacuate flooding in Hawaii as officials warn 120-year-old dam could fail
+852 words added -933 words removed
− By
The Associated Press
Streets are flooded from severe rains Friday in Haleiwa, Hawaii.
+ By
The Associated Press
Fooding covers a residential neighborhood in Waialua, Hawaii, Friday, March 20, 2026.
− Mengshin Lin/AP hide caption
HONOLULU — As Hawaii endures its worst flooding in more than 20 years, officials are urging people in hard-hit areas to "LEAVE NOW." The warning early Saturday came after heavy rains fell on soil already saturated by downpours from a winter storm a week ago. Still more rain was expected during the weekend, officials said.
+ Mengshin Lin/AP hide caption
HONOLULU — Hawaii officials urged people in hard-hit areas to evacuate Saturday due to the state's worst flooding in more than 20 years, after heavy rains fell on soil already saturated by downpours from a winter storm a week ago with still more expected over the weekend.
− Raging waters lifted homes and cars and prompted evacuation orders for 5,500 people north of Honolulu.
+ Raging waters lifted homes and cars and prompted evacuation orders for 5,500 people north of Honolulu, though they were later lifted.
− The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning early Saturday with light to moderate showers expected to turn heavy in some places.
− 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.
+ On the island of Maui, authorities upgraded an evacuation advisory to a warning for some parts of Lahaina, which is still reeling from a deadly 2023 wildfire, because of retention basins nearing capacity.
− "This is going to have a very serious consequence for us as a state," Green said at a news conference.
+ North Shore Oahu residents who did not evacuate were heartened in the morning by receding waters and moments of blue skies, but more rain was on the way.
− 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.
"Residents in the Waialua area are strongly urged to LEAVE NOW," an emergency alert said early Saturday.
+ "Don't let your guard down just yet," said Tina Stall, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu, "there's still potential for more flooding impacts."
Racquel Achiu, a Waialua farmer who stayed to care for her livestock, found her goats in knee-high water Thursday night, and an hour later, her family's seven dogs were in danger of drowning in an elevated kennel.
− "The remaining access road out of Waialua is at high risk of failure if rainfall continues."
Green said his chief of staff spoke to the White House and received assurances the islands would have federal support.
+ Her nephew and son-in-law rushed out into chest-high water to save them.
− Streets are flooded from severe rains Friday in Haleiwa, Hawaii.
+ "My dogs' heads were literally just sticking out of the water," Achiu recalled.
"There was so much water, I cannot even express."
Gov.
− Mengshin Lin/AP hide caption
No deaths were reported and no one was unaccounted for. More than 200 people have been rescued, officials said. About 10 people were taken to a hospital with hypothermia, he said.
+ Josh Green said the cost of the storm could top $1 billion, including damage to airports, schools, roads, homes and a Maui hospital in Kula.
− 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, said Ian Scheuring, a spokesperson for Honolulu.
The National Guard and Honolulu Fire Department airlifted 72 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.
+ "This is going to have a very serious consequence for us as a state," Green said at a news conference.
− The camp is on high ground but authorities didn't want to leave them there, the mayor said.
+ He also said his chief of staff spoke to the White House and received assurances of federal support.
− Green said the flooding was the state's most serious since 2004 floods in Manoa inundated homes and a University of Hawaii library.
Dozens — if not hundreds — of homes were damaged Friday but officials haven't been able to fully assess the destruction, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said.
+ A view of a storm-damaged home near floating felled branches in flood waters caused by severe rains in Waialua, Hawaii, Friday, March 20, 2026.
− Some 5,500 people were under evacuation orders.
+ Mengshin Lin/AP hide caption
Green said the flooding was the state's most serious since 2004, when homes and a University of Hawaii library were swamped.
− "There's no question that the damage done thus far has been catastrophic," he said.
+ Dozens and perhaps hundreds of homes have been damaged, but officials have yet to fully assess the destruction.
− Parts of Oahu received 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) of rain overnight.
+ Parts of Oahu received 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm), the National Weather Service said.
More than 200 people were rescued from the rising waters, authorities said, but no deaths were reported and no one was unaccounted for.
− Kaala, the island's highest peak, got nearly 16 inches (40 cm) in the past day, the National Weather Service said.
+ Crews searched by air and by water for stranded people.
− More rain was expected: Blangiardi said 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) of rain was forecast to fall on Oahu in the next two to three days.
+ The National Guard and Honolulu Fire Department airlifted 72 children and adults from a spring break youth camp at a retreat on Oahu's west coast called Our Lady of Kea'au, city officials said. The camp is on high ground, but authorities did not want to leave them there, the mayor 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 in the past two weeks.
+ Winter storm systems known as "Kona lows," which feature southerly or southwesterly winds that bring in moisture-laden air, have been responsible for the deluges in the past two weeks.
− Officials have been closely watching the Wahiawa dam, which has been vulnerable for decades, saying it was "at risk of imminent failure."
Water levels in the dam — about 17 miles (28 kilometers) northwest of Honolulu, on the island of Oahu — receded by late Friday but that could change if more rain falls.
+ Officials have been closely watching the Wahiawa dam, which has been vulnerable for decades, saying it was "at risk of imminent failure."
Water levels in the dam about 17 miles (28 kilometers) northwest of Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, receded by late Friday and then went up again with overnight rain.
− Streets are flooded from severe rains Friday in Haleiwa, Hawaii. Mengshin Lin/AP hide caption
Overnight into Friday, the dam went from 79 feet to 84 feet (24 to 25.6 meters) — just 6 feet (1.8 meters) shy of what it can handle, authorities said. After peaking at more than 85 feet (26 meters), the water level had dropped by early Saturday to 81.5 feet (24.8 meters), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
+ However the dam appeared to be less of a concern the following morning than the "breadth of hazardous conditions" across the island, said Molly Pierce, a spokesperson for Oahu's Department of Emergency Management.
− 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 dam is a concern every time it rains.
+ She noted substantial flooding including in residential parts of Honolulu.
− "Just pray for us," she said.
+ "We're seeing the waters receding in a lot of places, but again with that saturation, just the smallest amount of water can bring those raging back up," Pierce said.
− "We understand there's more rain coming."
The state has said Wahiawa 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.
+ "So even if it's blue skies where you are, I think we all know in Hawaii that if rain is falling on the mountain, it's coming to you soon enough."
Kathleen Pahinui evacuated her Waialua home early Friday because of the dam danger.
− The state has sent Dole four notices of deficiency about the dam since 2009 and five years ago fined the company $20,000 for failing to address safety deficiencies on time, according to records.
Afterward, Dole proposed to donate the dam, reservoir and ditch system to the state in exchange for the state's agreement to repair the spillway to meet and maintain dam safety standards.
The state passed legislation in 2023 authorizing the dam's acquisition.
+ "Hopefully if we make it through today, then tomorrow will dawn bright and sunny," she said Saturday.
− It also provided $5 million to buy the spillway and $21 million to repair and expand it to comply with dam safety requirements.
+ "And then everyone can start moving slowly back in, and we can start to resume normal and start cleaning up and helping our neighbors."
The Wahiawa dam, an earthen structure, was built in 1906 to increase sugar production for the Waialua Agricultural Company, which eventually became a subsidiary of Dole Food Company.
− But the transfer has not been completed. A state board is due to vote on the acquisition next week.
+ It was reconstructed following a collapse in 1921.
− "The dam continues to operate as designed with no indications of damage," Dole said in an emailed statement.
+ The state has said Wahiawa dam has "high hazard potential" and a failure "will result in probable loss of human life."
It has sent Dole four notices of deficiency about the dam since 2009, and five years ago it fined the company $20,000 for failing to address safety deficiencies on time, according to records.
− 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.
+ Afterward, Dole proposed to donate the dam, reservoir and ditch system to the state in exchange for an agreement to repair the spillway to meet and maintain dam safety standards.
+ "The dam continues to operate as designed with no indications of damage," Dole said in a statement.