“My Whole Life, I’ve Never Seen Anything Even Close To This”

Hawaii is taking on water in a way it hasn’t in at least two decades. Thousands have been evacuated across the islands, with the North Shore of O‘ahu among the hardest hit.

Over the past few days, some regions have received between 40 and 50 inches (127 cm) of rain. Forecasts suggest further accumulation, with O‘ahu expected to take on an additional four to six inches, and parts of Maui potentially receiving up to 12 inches more. 

The financial toll is expected to exceed $1 billion, according to Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, who has urged residents to “take the storm as seriously as you can.”

“It just got so bad to the point where people just had to evacuate in the middle of the night,” says Kuio Young. 

Between Waialua and Hale‘iwa, the Wahiawā Dam became the focal point. It held, but not convincingly. Reports of failure came and went, confirmed, denied, repeated, enough to prompt widespread evacuation and a hell of a lot of panic.

“It was a really big scare… they announced a couple times like, oh, it failed, or it didn’t fail, so people are panicking,” says Kuio. “We all had to evacuate. A lot of people have lost everything. So many people have lost their whole homes.”

The water moved in and took what was there, including homes, cars, and small businesses. 

“I talked to Eric Arakawa… he sustained a lot of damage at the Old Sugar Mill, where he sells his boards,” says Kuio. “There’s a bunch of shapers, glassers, sanders there. I’m sure all these board builders are going to be feeling a big loss from this as well.”

Infrastructure failures have compounded the situation. Power outages remain widespread across the North Shore, with limited access to fuel. Water, the wrong kind, is everywhere. In some cases, evacuation orders arrived too late to act on.  

“A lot of people got stuck,” says Kuio. “They were telling people to evacuate, but they couldn’t because they were flooded out. They couldn’t drive vehicles through.”

Emergency shelters have been opened, and in some cases, abandoned again as conditions deteriorated.

“They ended up having to evacuate the shelters because the flooding was getting worse. They’re telling people basically just to leave the North Shore. My mom’s house got smoked. My neighbours all got smoked. I got lucky, just because of where I sit on a hill, but a lot of people have lost everything.” Kuio says. 

Jon Pyzel, along with Kuio, was among the lucky spared from severe damage. 

“I haven’t had any personal problems with our house or the factory,” says Pyzel. ‘But many, many others have. It is a disaster.” 

There are early reports of missing persons, though details remain unconfirmed.

Against that, a more informal response has emerged. Residents, emergency services, and volunteers have taken on much of the immediate burden. 

“There’s been a lot of people going out of their own way to help their neighbours,” Kuio continues. “Driving tractors, heavy equipment, rescuing people. Ocean Safety, fire department, just everyday people doing what they can. But these people are going to be feeling the effects for a long time. It’s a long road ahead.”

For now, Kuio says there’s no GoFundMe or central fund in place, though updates will come if that changes. He does have a request for anyone currently in Hawaii.

“If you’re in Hawaii, keep an eye on social media for shelters or supply drives – toiletries, non-perishable food, clothes, blankets,” he says. “If you’re on O‘ahu and can help directly, call your friends in the affected areas and see where you’re actually useful.”

More as it comes.