The heavy rain began dumping Thursday morning, forcing state officials to close the Kalalau Trail and Na Pali Coast State Park. Since then, Mother Nature has continued to pack a wet and wicked punch, showing little sign of an extended
The heavy rain began dumping Thursday morning, forcing state officials to close the Kalalau Trail and Na Pali Coast State Park.
Since then, Mother Nature has continued to pack a wet and wicked punch, showing little sign of an extended break until Tuesday or later.
By 9 a.m. Sunday a wall of muddy water could be seen pouring over the hillside fronting the Wailua Marina and Smith’s Tropical Paradise, while a brown Wailua River continued to rise just a few hundred feet away.
The parking lot at the marina looked more like a lake, and Smith’s was forced to shut down its Fern Grotto river tours, according to a company representative.
The Hanalei River came just shy of reaching the National Weather Service’s flood alert threshold of eight feet Sunday morning, before quickly dropping back down to four feet in the afternoon.
Despite heavy rain and rising river water, the Hanalei Bridge remained open throughout the day, according to county officials.
Kauai Civil Defense reported several road closures Sunday, including Kamalu Road near Wailua Homesteads Park and Hauaala Road near the river crossing in Kapaa, as well as ponding along Kahuna Road in Kapahi.
At around 8:45 a.m., the County of Kauai reported that police closed Weliweli Road at the Ala Kinoiki junction in Koloa due to flooding. The road reopened approximately two hours later.
Kamalu and Hauaala roads reopened around 3 p.m.
A flash flood watch was expected to remain in effect for Kauai and Niihau until 6 a.m. today.
Several parts of the island saw large 24-hour rainfall totals, including Kapahi with 5.15 inches, Mount Waialeale with 5.65, Lihue with 2.47 and Poipu with 2.41, according to the National Weather Service’s automated rain gauge report.
Despite lots of brown water along Kauai’s coast, the state Department of Health did not issue a Brown Water Advisory by press time Sunday. The warnings, which usually coincide with flash flood watches and warnings, urge people to stay out of flood waters and storm water runoff due to possible overflowing cesspools, pesticides, animal fecal matter and other potential health hazards.
