Historic rain inundates Kauai, cutting off Hawaii residents and tourists with floods and mudslides– “This has been the worst flood event I’ve ever seen my 49 years here on Hanalei”

Desdemona Despair

By John Hopewell
17 April 2018

(The Washington Post) – A historic torrent of rain pounded the Hawaiian island of Kauai this weekend, with more than two feet of rain lashing the tropical paradise in 24 hours.

According to the National Weather Service in Honolulu, the rain gauge in the town of Hanalei collected 27.52 inches of rain from early Saturday morning into Sunday morning. That beats all previous one- and two-day rainfall maximums for that location.

Kauai is, of course, no stranger to rain. It is one of the rainiest places on Earth, with the 5,148-foot-tall Mount Waialeale receiving more than 400 inches of rain annually. Hanalei, where the 24-hour rainfall record was set, averages 78 inches per year.

Still, the Saturday-Sunday inundation was far too much for Kauai to handle. […]

“From all of what I’ve seen this has been the worst flood event I’ve ever seen my 49 years here on Hanalei,” Alex Diego told the Garden Island newspaper. “The house got water in it for the first time ever.” [more]

Historic rain inundates Kauai, cutting off Hawaii residents and tourists with floods and mudslides