Hawaii Receives Major Flooding

There has recently been major flooding in Hawaii. The flooding was caused by heavy rain and winds only two weeks after back to back subtropical cyclones.This flooding is considered to be the worst flooding Hawaii has seen in over 20 years with another warning of harsh winds, several inches of heavy rain, and dangerous flash floods starting on Tuesday. The Natural Weather Service recently issued a flood watch for all the islands from Wednesday morning until Friday afternoon. Another storm is forecasted to head west of the islands and Southern winds are predicted to absorb tropical moisture in the south. There is also expected to be a low pressure system which will draw tropical moisture towards the north with dangerous heavy rains arriving Wednesday night and staying until Thursday night. More rain is on the way as communities help to clean the mess and destruction caused by recent rains, wind, storms, and flooding. This Thursday, April 9, and Friday, April 10, are expected to be the worst storms, rain, and flooding the Hawaii islands have seen all week. On April 6 there is expected to be light rain and winds on the islands but the rain is expected to intensify on the big island a day later. On the eighth, rains are expected to intensify for all the islands and become a storm on April 9-10.

Unfortunately, the flooding got so bad that not only buildings, schools and homes were destroyed, but also families. The search for a woman named Jennifer Sperry, who was swept away by the flood has officially ended as she was found dead on Saturday morning downstream of Kauai arboretum. Sperry was last seen on Kuamo’o Road near the second crossing along Keahua Arboretum and was later reported missing on Friday around 4 pm. The police explained how she had been with two other people at the time and they later reported that Sperry was missing. The Kauai Fire Department, the Kauai Search and Rescue and the Kauai Police department all went looking for Sperry on Friday night but the search quickly came to an end due to darkness and unsafe conditions, explained the Kauai police department. However the search operation continued early Saturday morning and around 7:30 am, and they found Sperry’s body almost 200 yards downstream from the second crossing. There is currently an autopsy to determine Jennifer Sperry’s cause of death but the Police explained that they do not suspect foul play at the moment.