Storms bring record rain across the Hawaiian Islands by Steph Ball
Roads turned into rivers and waterfalls where they previously didn’t exist, are the aftermath of days of torrential rains which have lashed the Hawaiian Islands.
Most of the islands remained on a flood watch during Monday night as heavy showers continued to plague the island chain. The storms which first began late last week are the result of low pressure combined with a moist trade wind.
Hilo on the eastern shores of Hawaii (Big Island) has felt the full brunt of the stormy weather. On Monday authorities were still assessing the damage caused by the weekend rain, which set a new record on Saturday. Some residents said they had never seen rain as heavy in their lifetime as Hilo totted up 275mm (10.82 inches) in 24 hours. This broke the previous record of 186mm (7.34 inches) set back in 1969.
Several areas of Big Island were declared disaster areas on Sunday as the rain continued to fall, with authorities warning of possible landslides. Waiakea recorded the highest rainfall over the three days running up to 6am Monday. At the Waiakea Uka rain gauge, 808mm (31.82inches) of rain were measured. However the Waiakea Experimental Station rain gauge recorded almost 1200mm (47 inches) of rain.
Although showers are still forecast for the next few days, the weather is expected to improve this week.
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