Evacuation ordered in Hawaii as 120-year-old dam could fail, catastrophic flooding continues

HAWAII (KHON) — Residents on Oahu’s North Shore are being urged to evacuate as severe rains continue to create catastrophic flooding and threaten to trigger a dam failure.

Honolulu officials told residents in an emergency message to leave the area downstream of the 120-year-old Wahiawa dam, because it’s failing or expected to soon fail. The warning told residents to carpool because of heavy traffic.

Officials urged Oahu’s North Shore residents to evacuate safely if they can. Emergency sirens were triggered, where rising waters also damaged homes. Honolulu officials issued a “LEAVE NOW” evacuation order at 5:35 a.m. Friday local time for Waialua and Haleiwa: “Extremely dangerous flooding and Wahiawa Dam is high.”

Officials said a dam failure has the potential for “life-threatening flooding and catastrophic amounts of fast moving water.”

Molly Pierce, spokesperson for the Honolulu Department of Emergency Management, said the evacuation order covers more than 4,000 people, though the number could be higher.

Officials issued a warning for the dam during heavy rain last week, but the water level receded as rain subsided.

“The water is actively running over the spillway right now,” she said.

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.

A flash flood warning has been extended until 8 a.m. for Oahu. The National Weather Service says that although rainfall rates have temporarily decreased, significant runoff continues to produce high water levels and dangerous flooding impacts.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said in a social media post that the Hawaii National Guard has been activated to respond to the flooding. “The storm of course is very severe right now, particularly on the northern part of Oahu,” he said, describing chest-high flood waters. “It’s going to be a very touch-and-go day.”

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.

“Just pray for us,” she said. “We understand there’s more rain coming.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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