Historic floods in Hawaii are ravaging the island, as a condo building in Kihei suffered a partial collapse amid Kona low storm.
Michael Casey, the resident manager, said that floodwaters caused around three-quarters of the Kihei Kai condominium building to crumble.
Waters rushed from South Kihei Road and flowed under the building, causing the cave in overnight Friday into the early hours of Saturday.
‘It was just horrible. All night long, you heard crack and creaks and noise, and you knew what it was,’ neighbor Matt Matkin told Hawaii News Now.
‘That whole front of the building just came down on it.’
The 25-unit building, consisting of mostly short-term rentals, sank around 10 feet from the waters and sent a ripple effect through the structure, the outlet reported.
‘Once that water hit the top of the bridge, I evacuated the building,’ Casey told the outlet.
However, it wasn’t Casey’s first disaster, nor his first loss.
A 25-unit condo building, the Kihei Kai, partially collapsed after raging floodwaters savaged the island of Hawaii over the weekend
Michael Casey, the resident manager, said that floodwaters caused around three-quarters of the Kihei Kai condominium building to collapse
Waters rushed from South Kihei Road and flowed under the building, causing the collapse overnight on Friday into the early hours on Saturday
The whole building was ripped apart after water caused the building to fall 10 feet into the waters
‘This is my third evacuation and second complete disaster. Loss of everything,’ he said. Casey lost his home for the second time after his first succumbed to a wildfire in 2023.
The building had only been previously damaged by floodwaters in January of last year.
However, the storm has hit the community far harder than anticipated.
‘It’s unlike anything that we’ve every experienced before,’ said Maui County’s Director of Communications Laksmi Abraham.
‘In fact, it’s unprecedented, I think, in my lifetime of ever seeing anything like that. So no matter how prepared we were for this type of event, you’re going to see severe flooding occur.’
Emergency inspectors estimated the damages of the Kihei Kai site would be included in Maui County’s application for federal disaster relief on Monday afternoon, the outlet reported.
Maui has continued to clean up as the week carries on following the raging storm that saw up to 70mph winds and feet of rain in just days.
Justin Fetalvero, a Kihei local, told Maui News that he had to shovel more than a foot of mud from his driveway and the floods were much worse than he’s previously had to endure.
‘It was definitely worse – more mud, more water,’ he said.
The storm has hit the community far harder than anticipated, as Maui County’s Director of Communications Laksmi Abraham said: ‘It’s unlike anything that we’ve every experienced before’
Tom Bashaw and his wife Carrie saw their home ripped apart by the vicious waters in just hours. The pair opted to sleep in a shipping container instead of their waterside home along the Iao Stream
Bashaw’s home was ripped apart by raging waters from the Iao Stream
Bashaw said that the waters were eroding their home and collapsed the foundation of their two-bedroom home, ripping apart the back before the entire house collapsed by Saturday morning
Runoff water ripped holes into the South Kihei Road near Kenolio Park and damaged a bus stop near the Kihei Canoe Club, the outlet reported.
‘This is the heaviest rain I’ve ever seen,’ said Vanessa Weiss, a Kihei Canoe Club board member. ‘On Friday and Saturday, the rain was pounding. It was forceful.’
Across Hawaii, areas saw up to three feet of rain in just two days and a Target store was flooded in Kahului, according to Maui News.
Tom Bashaw and his wife Carrie saw their home ripped apart by the vicious waters in just hours. The pair opted to sleep in a shipping container instead of their waterside home along the Iao Stream.
Bashaw said that the waters were eroding their home and collapsed the foundation of their two-bedroom home, ripping apart the back before the entire house collapsed by Saturday morning.
‘Five years of extremely hard work, and it’s gone in hours,’ he told the outlet. ‘The river just came and started eroding all of this.’
At Puu Kukui in the West Maui Mountains, two days saw a dump of just over two feet of rainfall, while the summit of Halaekala saw around three and a half feet of rain.
Kahului Airport saw more than one foot over the course of two days. Kahului’s rainfall was noted as a record-breaking amount since the 1960s, according to the National Weather Service.
Runoff water ripped holes into the South Kihei Road near Kenolio Park and damaged a bus stop near the Kihei Canoe Club. Roads cleared up on Sunday
Across the island, power lines were pulled down as reports of widespread sinkholes, landslides and flash flooding were made
Debris covers a beach in Kihei, Hawaii, on Sunday after a storm brought on fierce flooding and winds
‘It was the most rainfall in a generation of 50 years,’ NWS Meteorologist Patrick Blood told Maui News.
Airports saw many flight cancellations, with most numbers returning to normal by Monday. Kahului Airport saw around 16 cancellations on Friday, 57 on Saturday and a further 27 on Sunday, according to FlightAware.
The Hawaii State Department issued multiple brown water advisories to residents and visitors, warning them to avoid affected ocean waters. The advisory warns of storm water runoff carrying a high bacteria count, posing a health risk.
Across the island, power lines were pulled down as reports of widespread sinkholes, landslides and flash flooding were made.
Another Kona low storm was set to be headed toward Hawaii on Thursday, with more rain and winds. Yet, its expected damage is not believed to be as devastating.
Flash floods and heavy rain are expected to begin in the beginning of next week.
