Flooding reported across Oahu, much of Downtown Honolulu to remain without power likely until morning – KHON2

KHON2
by: Nicole Napuunoa, Max Rodriguez
HONOLULU (KHON2) — As of 9:30 p.m on Maui, a power outage is impacting customers in Pukalani to East Maui and parts of Makawao and Haiku. HECO reports that is in addition to outages already reported in of Kula, Wailuku, and Lahaina. HECO says power will probably be out overnight. Power was restored to Maui Meadows and most of Kula.
As of 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7, more than 10,000 gallons of wastewater went into a storm drain by Moanalua Bay and Keehi Lagoon. That wastewater is discharging due to the rain, according to the Department of Health. The public is advised to stay out of Moanalua Stream to Keehi Lagoon. Signs were posted in the area. The DOH reports this is near Jarrett White Road near Tripler Army Hospital.
Mayor Rick Blangiardi signed an emergency proclamation for the City and County of Honolulu Monday night as Oahu experienced hours of heavy rains, strong winds and flooding from a Kona low that produced a Flash Flood Warning Monday afternoon, which has since been downgraded to a Flood Watch.
The proclamation allows the mayor to suspend county ordinances to protect the health and safety of residents.
Submit your storm photos to be featured online, on-air and on social media
Hawaiian Electric (HECO) asked hundreds of Downton Honolulu residents to be ready for an extended power outage overnight as their crews work to restore service–work that was impacted heavily by the continuing rains.
The outage occurred when the Iwilei substation flooded Monday night. Residents between South Beretania St., River St., Ala Moana Blvd. and Punchbowl St., including the state capitol and the federal courthouse were all impacted.
HECO said that power was restored to six buildings Tuesday morning, including the State Capitol, state office and city municipal buildings, district court, Central Pacific Bank and First Hawaiian Bank after they were able to repair one of three transformers that were damaged.
Two other transformers at the Iwilei substation were being dried out, repaired and tested. But after pumping water out of underground vaults, 300 feet of high voltage cables were found to have been damaged by the flooding.
HECO now believes much of Downtown Honolulu will be without power until Wednesday morning.
“It’s possible some customers may be restored this evening, but it’s looking like the bulk of the area affected by this extraordinary weather event will not come back online until tomorrow. We want residents and business owners to have this information so they can plan ahead,” said Jim Alberts, senior vice president of Operations. “It’s possible the work will go faster but we want people to be prepared. We’ve been in contact with a lot of business operators, management companies and government agencies downtown and we appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding.”
The underground parking garage of a residential building on Piikoi Street also experienced extreme flooding that totaled at least four cars that were left parked over night.
Shawn Bush’s SUV was one of the cars that was damaged because of the flood. He said he considered moving his car Monday evening but he never imagined just how much water would breach the parking garage.
“I tried, it wouldn’t start yea it wouldn’t start,” Bush said. “There was water right here, I just emptied out the dashboard section and the center, there was water I dumped it out.”
The onsite manager and contractors continued to clean and pump water out of the elevator shaft even a day after the storm.
Noelani Street in Pearl City was blocked off after heavy rains sent a car floating and dumped mud in the middle of the road.
Over in East Honolulu, Kahala Mall experienced flooding and water could be seen pooling outside of Fun Factory.
In a statement from Kahala Mall General Manager, Ezy Paeste, it was noted that the theater wing experienced flooding and a couple of the auditoriums were affected as well as some merchants in the area.
Other areas of the mall are open.
The Calvary By The Sea Lutheran Church also experience some flooding in the chapel’s basement. Senior Pastor Moses Barrios said it was not as bad as it has been in the past.
Several church volunteers responded to help.
“There does seem to be a trauma, a sense of fear because we know what it could do,” Barrios said. “And we’ve seen the worst of it, so every time we have water here we’re always being aware of that.”
The Honolulu Zoo also experienced flooding, though they did not specify whether any exhibits were affected. Because of the conditions, the zoo will remain closed Tuesday and they hope to reopen Wednesday.
On Maui, over 2,700 residents living in the Makawao area were impacted by a power outage that began on Sunday, Dec. 5 at 5:24 p.m. According to Hawaiian Electric, crews are working to fix the outage, and there is no estimated restoration time available.
As of 8:15 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 7, more than 10,000 gallons of wastewater went into a storm drain by Moanalua Bay and Keehi Lagoon. That wastewater is discharging due to the rain, according to the Department of Health. The public is advised to stay out of Moanalua Stream to Keehi Lagoon. Signs were posted in the area. The DOH reports this is near Jarrett White Road near Tripler Army Hospital.
Check out what’s going on around the nation on our National News page
For more information on power outages go to HECO’s website.
Copyright 2021 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Blustery trade winds will persist into the middle of the week, with lighter trade winds expected toward the end of the week.
Passing showers will favor windward and mountain areas. Increased moisture tonight into Wednesday will lead to higher trade shower coverage and intensity.
(The Hill) — An Oxford University study published on Monday found that two-dose COVID-19 vaccines generate a lower antibody response against the omicron strain, suggesting that the variant could lead to more infections among the fully vaccinated and previously infected.
The research, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, documented a “substantial fall” in the number of neutralizing antibodies, among participants who received two doses of the AstraZeneca or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.

source