Heavy rains hit Kihei, flooding roads and forcing closures | News, Sports, Jobs
Nearly 2 inches of rainfall saturated South Maui on Friday afternoon, flooding roads, forcing closures and impacting Maui Bus services in the area.
The Maui Emergency Management Agency reported that stationary rain clouds near Kihei caused excessive rainfall in the area. MEMA partially activated its Emergency Operations Center to monitor heavy rainfall and flooding in South Maui, but the center stood down after a flash flood advisory was lifted at about 5:20 p.m., the county said.
According to National Weather Service data, Kihei recorded 1.89 inches of rain from 1 to 4 p.m. on Friday. Flooding was reported near Kalama Park in the area of Waimahaihai Street and Keala Place, and by 2 p.m., Maui police had closed South Kihei Road from Waimahaihai Street to Kanani Road.
Liloa Hema Drive from Keonekai Road to Alaku Road was also closed at 2:22 p.m., with officers reporting water runoff, a flooding gulch and debris on the roadway.
By 3:30 p.m., South Kihei Road was also closed from 760 S. Kihei Road to Kanani Road, and Kulanihakoi Street was closed from Oluea Street to South Kihei Road.
Maui County said the flooding roads, increased traffic and forced closures had impacted two Maui Bus routes — the Kihei Villager Route No. 15 and the Kihei Islander Route No. 20. Bus passengers can track the latest information on bus routes through the Maui Bus app or by visiting mauibus.org/announcements.
All roads had reopened by 7 p.m., police said.
Other areas of Maui County also experienced some rain. The West Wailuaiki gauge in East Maui recorded 0.97 inches over a 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m. Friday, second only to Kihei’s 1.89 inches over the same period.
The rain gauge at the Hana Airport recorded 0.89 inches, while the Puu Kukui gauge in the West Maui Mountains recorded 0.80 inches.
Lanai City saw 1.70 inches of rain, while the Puu Alii gauge on Molokai recorded 0.84 inches.
While Kahului did not see much rain, the area still set a record with 0.22 inches on Friday, breaking the old record of 0.10 set on the same day in 1990, according to the National Weather Service.
Residents who would like to report flood damage can visit mauicounty.gov/emergency and click on “Damage Assessment — Self-reporting.”
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