Updated on: March 21, 2026 / 12:05 AM EDT / CBS/AP
Muddy floodwaters from severe rains inundated streets, pushed homes off foundations, swallowed vehicles and prompted evacuation orders for thousands of residents in towns north of Honolulu on Friday as officials warned a 120-year-old dam could fail.
Emergency sirens blared along Oahu’s North Shore, where rising waters damaged homes in a community known for surfing. Honolulu officials told residents downstream of the Wahiawa dam — long viewed as vulnerable — to evacuate, saying it was “at risk of imminent failure.”
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said there were no fatalities and no unaccounted-for individuals as of Friday night. Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said 233 people had been rescued so far. Crews searched by air and water for stranded residents, efforts hampered by people flying personal drones to capture flooding images, city spokesperson Ian Scheuring said.
Dozens — possibly hundreds — of homes were damaged, though officials could not fully assess destruction. Some 5,500 people were under evacuation orders. “There’s no question that the damage done thus far has been catastrophic,” Blangiardi said.
Green called the event the largest flood Hawaii has seen in 20 years and warned of “very serious consequences” for the state. He said the storm could cost more than a billion dollars in public and private damage. Blangiardi said officials were monitoring dam stability but could not predict how much more rain would fall.
The National Guard and Honolulu Fire Department airlifted 72 children and adults from a spring-break youth camp at the Our Lady of Kea’au retreat on Oahu’s west coast. The camp sits on high ground, but authorities opted to relocate attendees because floodwaters had cut off the entrance road, St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawai’i spokesperson Kimberly R.Y. Vierra said.
On Maui, officials issued an evacuation advisory for parts of Lahaina after nearby retention basins neared capacity; some of those neighborhoods were burned by the 2023 wildfire. Most of the state was under a flood watch, with Haleiwa and Waialua in northern Oahu under a flash flood warning, the National Weather Service said.
Green announced the Hawaii National Guard had been activated. He described chest-high floodwaters in parts of northern Oahu and said rescues had been made “directly from rooftops.” Multiple pet-friendly shelters were opened, including Waialua High and Intermediate, Wahiawā District Park, Nānākuli High and Intermediate, and Kahuku Elementary.
Officials had been monitoring dam levels since heavy rains last week caused catastrophic flooding that washed away roads and homes. A follow-up, weaker storm was forecast to bring more rain through the weekend. Waialua resident Kathleen Pahinui said the aging dam is a concern every time it rains and that water was running over the spillway again.
The state regulates 132 dams across Hawaii, many built for sugar cane irrigation, according to a 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers report. Severe flooding in 2021 may have caused a breach of Kaupakalua Dam in Haiku on Maui. In 2006, seven people died when Kauai’s Ka Loko dam collapsed. Officials continue to monitor dam conditions as emergency response and damage assessments proceed.