As rains let up in Maui County, assessment and clean-up begins

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Kahekili Pa-Kala lives along Kamehameha V Highway on Molokai.

His residence is located near the river mouth that broke Saturday morning amid heavy rains.

He said the road looked like a raging river and forced people people to evacuate.

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“Some of us, our homes could have floated away, literally,” said Pa-Kala. “Like some of our neighbors own a bus company for the community, they do a bus run for schools, they had to evacuate.”

He said a big concern was for seniors, some of whom were trapped in their homes.

Pa-Kala said he’s got some clean-up to do on his property — but is waiting for the rains to let up for good.

“We didn’t want to start too early and then it happens all over again,” said Pa-Kala.

Maui also saw flooding rains over the weekend.

Once the storm moved on, the road behind Megan Philibin’s home was covered in mud.

“I’m personally just trying to stay home right now because I think the roads are pretty dangerous and the rain could start again anytime,” said Philibin.

Mahina Martin, Maui County spokesperson, says both islands got the brunt of the storm.

“Our roadways are impacted heaviest,” said Martin.

“Closures remain on some of our major parks Baldwin Beach, Kepaniwai, a few in South Maui as well.”

She added that once the rains move on, the county will begin assessing damage and clearing debris.

Martin said public works crews will continue to clear downed trees and debris from the roadways Monday, but that could change depending on the weather conditions.

Residents can report structural property damage from the flooding online.

The Central Maui Landfill and Molokaʻi Landfill remain closed due to unsafe conditions affecting access.

Residents and visitors are advised to stay away from streams, rivers, drainage ditches and culverts.

To sign up for alerts from the County of Maui’s Emergency Management Agency, head to the county’s website.

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