Historic flooding in Hawaii has caused more than $1 billion in damage and forced thousands of residents from their homes, as search teams continue looking for an elderly woman believed to have been swept away by fast-moving floodwaters. Officials on Saturday urged evacuations in the hardest-hit parts of Oahu and Maui amid what the state has described as its worst flooding in more than two decades. The disaster followed intense rainfall falling on ground already saturated by a winter storm the previous week. Emergency crews are searching for a missing 71-year-old woman who reportedly fell into a swollen stream on Saturday. Maui police said she was last seen near an encampment along Iao Stream on Waiehu Beach Road, where she was trying to collect water with a basket before falling into the river. Ground teams have searched the stream and nearby areas, while helicopter, jet ski, air, and ocean operations have also been deployed, but she has not yet been found.
A Billion-Dollar Deluge
Governor Josh Green said the storm’s impact on both public infrastructure and private property is expected to exceed $1 billion, with a statewide flood watch remaining in effect through Sunday. “You can see the flood levels are significant. We’ll have over $1 billion of damage, it appears,” Green told CNN on Saturday. He said Hawaii has received 40 to 50 inches of rain during what he called the largest flood event the state has seen in 20 years, with the emergency stretching across roughly 11 days. Green also said two people suffered severe spinal cord injuries and that a hospital on Maui had been knocked out by the flooding. He added that 236 people had been rescued, including an entire camp, while spring break left some school families stranded in isolated areas. In some cases, residents had to wait on rooftops for help.
Dam Failure Warning
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Green said the estimated losses include damage to airports and a major hospital on Maui, along with widespread impacts to schools, roads, and homes. He said many families suffered structural damage that will require significant repairs. Officials have also raised alarms over the Wahiawa Dam on Oahu, warning it could fail and prompting urgent evacuation orders for downstream communities including Haleiwa and Waialua on the North Shore. The National Weather Service said most of Hawaii is expected to remain under a flood watch through Sunday afternoon.
This includes the islands of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe and the Big Island. Hollywood star Jason Momoa was among thousands of Hawaiians forced to flee as a powerful storm battered the islands, causing dangerous, potentially fatal flooding. Momoa took to Instagram and revealed he fled the North Shore after losing power and was with his family. ‘We’re safe now, but there’s a lot of people who weren’t, so sending all our love,’ he said. The Aquaman actor also shared footage of flooding near his father’s home, calling the destruction ‘crazy’ and pleading with his followers to stay safe.
Momoa said the dangerous weather forced him to cancel a music event planned for the weekend. The actor, who was born in Honolulu, posted on Instagram ahead of the weekend that the past weeks had been ‘heavy’ for his home state. ‘The storms, the flooding, the constant rain across Oahu have affected so many of our people, especially those already facing hardship,’ Momoa said. ‘Seeing families displaced, communities struggling, and our unhoused neighbors hit the hardest…’ Momoa encouraged locals to check in on neighbors ahead of the dangerous next few days. ‘That’s what aloha is,’ Momoa wrote. ‘It’s showing up for each other when it matters most.’
