Storm collapses roof of school’s auditorium

A 40-foot section of roof from the Joseph Rider Farrington Community Auditorium at Farrington High School collapsed Friday afternoon as thunderstorms unleashed a barrage of extreme wintry weather across Oahu.

Elsewhere around the island, residents reported high winds, heavy showers, hail and a funnel cloud.

Honolulu Fire Department spokes­man Capt. Robert Main said the roof collapse occurred at about 3:20 p.m. Only one person was in the building at the time, and he was able to escape unharmed.

The state Department of Education is investigating the cause of the collapse.

Daniel Coronado, one of a dozen Levite Ministry volunteers who were outside the auditorium helping to set up tents for this weekend’s regularly scheduled New Hope Christian Fellowship service, said the entire incident lasted just a few minutes.

"We had just started when the sky just opened up," Coronado said. "It was some of the heaviest rain I’ve ever seen. In less than five minutes there were pools and rivers across the lawn."

Coronado and a fellow volunteer took shelter in a church van. Outside, a group of kids ran for shelter beneath an overhang at the front of the gym.

"Then all of a sudden I heard this thunderous roar," Coro­nado recalled. "It was like two separate sequences, and everything just rattled."

The collapse was loud enough for 54-year-old Darlene Villa to hear as she took a shower in her apartment across the street.

"I know what thunder sounds like," she said, shaking her head. "This was different."

The section of roof that fell landed squarely on several rows of seats fronting the auditorium stage.

Friday was a holiday for public schools. Coronado said that had school been in sessions, dozens of students would have been going in and out of the auditorium.

Farrington High Principal Al Car­ga­nilla thought the same thing when he was notified of the collapse.

"Thank goodness it was a holiday and nobody was in there," he said, noting that a slam poetry contest expected to be attended by 100 to 200 people had been scheduled to take place there tonight.

"In a few hours there could have been kids in there," he said.

About 20 to 25 members of Dancer’s Delite, a dance group made up of students from Farrington High and Kalakaua Middle School, were just outside the auditorium preparing for tonight’s Christmas Kalihi parade when they heard a loud roar that sounded like thunder, said Sherly Doro­pan, the instructor’s assistant for the group.

It wasn’t obvious what happened until someone opened the doors to the auditorium and people could see "the middle of the rooftop caved in," said Doro­pan, 20.

Doropan, a Farrington graduate, said she was stunned that the storm could have caused the collapse since she’s seen it withstand heavier rain over the years.

She said she and others will feel a deep sense of loss from the auditorium’s destruction, noting that it is a focal point for assemblies and many other school activities. "That’s a lot of memories for us," Doro­pan said.

The DOE announced that all scheduled events at the auditorium are canceled until other arrangements can be made.

The auditorium hosts numerous school, church and community events. The Gift of Hope Charity Concert, an annual benefit for the Mercy Ships program, was scheduled to take place at the auditorium Dec. 9.

Friday’s unusual weather originated with what the National Weather Service called an "unsettled weather pattern" passing the islands.

The service issued a flood advisory for Oahu, covering Pearl City, Halawa and Wai­malu, that expired at 5 p.m. A flood advisory was also in effect for the Makena area of Maui County through 5:15 p.m.

Heavy rain was reported in Pearl City and Mililani.

Hail was reportedly falling in Pearl City, and H-1 westbound lanes near Wai­pahu were flooded, according to Hono­lulu police.

The unsettled weather pattern also resulted in snow in the summit areas of Mauna Kea on Thursday, resulting in the closure of the road to the summit Friday.

The weather service predicted that conditions will stabilize today, with trade­winds returning by late Sunday. The trades are expected to become more robust as high pressure builds north of the state through the first half of next week.

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Star-Advertiser reporter Craig Gima contributed to this report.