Kona Storm Flooding
The North Shore & Waialua:
Oahu’s North Shore is home to over 8,000 residents in a rural region away from the bustling capital city Honolulu. Although the North Shore is a popular vacation spot, it’s more than that; it's a thriving community where we live, work, and learn. Rooted in agriculture and ever-growing in STEM, it’s the place of 359’s beginnings and our home.
Kona Storm:
On March 12th, the Kona Storm rain started, and it continued to intensely pour for days on end. It resulted in some flooding and prolonged periods of power loss, but nothing prepared residents for the immense devastation of the second wave.
On Thursday night March 19th, the rain dangerously escalated, flooding peoples homes, eating away at the roads, and swallowing cars in enormous pools of water. Considered one of the worst floods in over 20 years, thousands of residents were without power for over 50 hours and some were forced to evacuate their homes in the middle of the night with waters reaching up to 4ft. The Wahiawa Dam, holding billions of gallons of water, was at risk of failing, potentially resulting in over 1500 families losing their homes. Bridges were closed and roads faced extreme deluge with risk of failure. Citizens who didn’t evacuate in time had no outlet and no choice but to hope the rain would stop and remain safe.
The aftermath of this devastating flood has caused immense financial and emotional instability. The destruction of over 400 homes has resulted in over a billion dollars in repairs. Homes were swept away, with the rain destroying generations of memories and leaving many without shelter.
Residents are now forced to boil their water due to immense contamination, made more difficult with the lack of power. Even when they do, there are still people who have contracted sickness from drinking water.
Our Situation
Thankfully, everyone on our team is safe, and our team members made it to our most recent competition in Idaho. We have had to clean up flooding in our facilities during the past week but we were lucky enough to not take any major damage. However, many families and individuals around us were not so fortunate. It’s important for us to use our voice to bring awareness and help members of our community who were impacted by the storm.
What Can We Do?
Only 4.2% of properties in Hawaii have flood insurance, meaning many families are left without a safety net in times like these. Helping families through Go Fund Me is a great way to give families the support they need. Continue supporting local businesses that have suffered but provided for their community through times like these. Volunteers are needed in residential and beach cleanups around the islands. We need your support more than ever in rebuilding our community and restoring the spark in our town.
Conclusion
We are so blessed to have a community that comes together to help each other in times of need. Many groups, restaurants, and individuals were gracious enough to provide water, food, and supplies to provide community members with temporary relief. Our hope is that relief can become permanent and those affected can get the resouces to build their lives back!
