Hawaii Wise

The worst of the flooding on Kauai's North East Shore seems to be over

The worst of the flooding on Kauai's North East Shore seems to be over. All of the most threatening reservoirs have been inspected and seem to be stable. There is still only one lane through the disaster area in Kilauea, but traffic seems to be moving fine. The rains are still coming down in bouts, and a number of bodies have never been found.

Residents on Kauai are asking the question, why after over 100 years with no problems did this earthen dam give out. It is not entirely clear yet why the dam broke but many people suspect that it had something to do with Pflueger. Pflueger is the owner of the land where the dam broke. He is a wealthy business man from Oahu and the owner of many Honda Dealerships. Apparently he had been raising the outflow to increase the water level in the reservoir. Pflueger has been convicted of illegal grading and environmental damages in the past. He has a history of not following county and state regulations for land use and permitting issues. While nothing is conclusive and one must be careful to jump to conclusions it does seem that Pflueger's activities may have had a hand in this flooding disaster. In the coming months Pflueger will likely be in the hot seat. County and state officials are already making public statements to the effect that it is the land owners responsibility to maintain the reservoirs, not theirs. They are distancing themselves from the blame.

It is important in tragedies like these, to be careful not to hastily search for someone to blame. Sometimes it is a act of nature & fate that can not be avoided. Either way it is a great tragedy and our hearts and aloha goes out to the families of the victims. The rain still pours on Kauai, tears from heaven.

Hawaii Vacation Info

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Flooding is Still Slamming Kauai - Tragedy is Not Over Yet

Kauai is still getting slammed with hard rains. Luckily the rain has abated today for a short while, but is expected to come back tonight and for the next week. Another two bodies were found from the reservoir disaster. Officials are still conducting searches. One of the bodies was found 1 mile off shore so at this point chances of finding other bodies is becoming more and more remote. The island residents are seemingly in a state of continued shock. Businesses have been temporarily closed, people are trying to stay off the roads and no one is in the waters.

Flood Disaster Strikes Hard On Kauai's Residents Today

This morning at around 5:00 am a flash flood occurred on Kauai's north eastern shore. Many people are missing and homes have been destroyed. This is possibly the worst natural disaster to strike Kauai, Hawaii since the 1992 Hurricane Iniki. Apparently a dam broke on the Kaloko Reservoir caused from the huge rain storms that have recently been hitting Kauai. The torrent of water blasted down the hill in a estimated 50 foot wall of water, destroying everything in it's path. The flood of water carrying debris caused havoc on Kahio Hwy, which is no closed. It is unknown at this time if anyone has died. The area is what is commonly referred to as Rock Quarry Beach near Kilauea.

Follow Up to The Wettest Place on Earth Is On Kauai Hawaii

Because there was so much interest in the post entitled "The wettest place on earth is in Hawaii" I decided to create another post on the famous waialeale crater on Kauai Hawaii. I have included a video clip of Waialeale Crater  which I have shot throughout the last five years. Because the video footage was shot on many different days there are images that include rainy days and clear days. The Waialeale Crater  is a fascinating place that is not only interesting to us now but was revered by ancient Hawaiians as well. On both the top of the Waialeale Crater and at the base the Hawaiians created Heiaus to worship their deities. Remains of these "nature" temples still remain, only few people actually visit them because it is so treacherous to hike to Waialeale Crater. Nevertheless there are a few bush trails for the brave, but it is not advisable to go if there is rain expected. Lastly, I heard something recently about Waialeale Crater on Kauai's interior that there may be other places on earth that are as wet or even wetter but that Waialeale Crater is considered the wettest place on earth because they have been taking rain measurements since 1910. I cannot verify this or not but it sounds plausible. Here is the Mount Waialeale video:
 

Hollywood's Backyard is Hawaii

Hollywood has used Hawaii as a stage for many films over the past 50 years.  Hawaii is very close to the west coast of California and therfore ideal for shooting scenes in the jungle or on deserted beaches. One such movie was the original Jurassic Park shot on Kauai, Hawaii. The photo is the famous waterfall seen in the movie. Many of these movies filmed in Hawaii include: Jurassic park, the original King Kong, South Pacific, and many more.