Heavy rains close 2 Honolulu roads
A jeep takes a joy ride through Kona St. at Pensacola St. which was closed due to flooding that came with the heavy rains brought on by Hurricane Ana in the Ala Moana section of Honolulu in on Sunday
Matt Perkins of Ala Moana makes his was through Kona St. at Pensacola St. which was closed due to flooding that came with the heavy rains brought on by Hurricane Ana in the Ala Moana section of Honolulu in on Sunday, October 19, 2014.
Passersby look at Kona St. at Pensacola St. which was closed due to flooding that came with the heavy rains brought on by Hurricane Ana in the Ala Moana section of Honolulu in on Sunday, October 19, 2014.
City officials have closed two roads in Honolulu after heavy rains caused severe ponding Sunday afternoon.
Pacific St. and Iwilei Road fronting Dole Cannery is closed due to huge ponding, said Peter Hirai, Deputy Director of Emergency Management.
Also, Kona St. between Kamakee and Pensacola is closed due to major flooding.
“Those are the only two places that we know of that are closed, but of course there’s ponding everywhere,” Hirai said. “We’re asking people to drive slowly and carefully.”
Police said driving through standing water at high speed can cause hydroplaning and loss of control. Drivers are urged to reduce speed and increase their distance behind other vehicles.
Ponding in the roadway forced authorities to close three lanes of Ala Wai Boulevard about 2 a.m. Sunday near Niu Street, police said.
Don't miss out on what's happening!
Stay in touch with top news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It's FREE!
Officers reopened all lanes about 5:15 a.m.
Officials said there was no major damage to Oahu overnight, but will continue to monitor the situation.
At about 11:30 a.m., police said a 40-foot tree had fallen and was blocking the west-bound lane of Old Fort Weaver Road, near Fort Weaver, in Ewa.
Also Sunday, the city closed Hanauma Bay, the Honolulu Zoo, the Waipio Soccer Complex, Central Oahu Regional Park, and the West Lock Golf Course because of residual effects from Ana.
All other city parks and golf courses remain open, but user discretion is advised.
The city’s storm hotline at 768-CITY will stay open until 9 p.m. Sunday, and the Emergency Operating Center will remain partially activated until stormy conditions have passed, the city said.
Hawaiian Electric Company said there were only a few pockets of outages from water seeping into manholes and other underground areas overnight.
“It was actually pretty uneventful for us,” said HECO spokesman Peter Rosegg said.
At 10:45 a.m., some 30 customers were in the dark from rain-related outages in Waikiki, Kaimuki, Kalihi, and Maunaloa, Rosegg said. He said crews were working to get those outages repaired.
The city closed its five evacuation shelters at 8 a.m. as the threat of tropical storm force winds and storm surges diminished for Oahu.
Seventy-one people, one service animal, and two pets stayed at the shelters. There were 24 people at Nanakuli High and Intermediate School, 32 at Farrington High School, eight at Waimanalo Elementary School, and seven at Leilehua High School. No one stayed at the shelter at Brigham Young University.
