Blangiardi said officials felt confident in the stability of the dams on the island, but that it was hard to predict how much rain would come and what it might do.
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. The camp is on high ground but authorities did not want to leave them there, the mayor said.
Kimberly RY Vierra, a spokesperson for St Francis Healthcare System of Hawai‘i, which owns the retreat property in west Oahu, said floodwaters had cut off the entrance road to the camp.
On Maui, officials issued an evacuation advisory for some Lahaina neighbourhoods after nearby retention basins neared capacity. Parts of those neighbourhoods were burned by the massive wildfire that destroyed much of Lahaina in 2023.
Officials have been watching dam levels since a storm last week dumped heavy rain across the state, which led to catastrophic flooding that washed away roads and homes. After the worst of it, a similar but weaker storm was forecast to bring more rain through this weekend.
“It’s going to be a very touch-and-go day,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in a social media post.
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.
One shelter at Waialua High and Intermediate School was evacuated because of flooding, Scheuring said. There were about 185 people and 50 pets there who needed to be bused to another evacuation centre, but by midday, 54 people still remained in the shelter.
Parts of Oahu received 20cm to 30 cm of rain overnight, further saturating the ground after the storm last weekend. Kaala, the island’s highest peak, got nearly 40cm in the past day, NWS 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. The intensity and frequency of heavy rains in Hawaii of have increased amid human-caused global warming, experts say.