A flash flood watch remains in effect for the state at least until late tonight, the National Weather Service said.
Maui on Tuesday was under a flash flood warning as heavy rain and runoff from Kulanihakoi Gulch closed South Kihei Road between Kaonoulu and Kulanihakoi streets. Maui police said the water was 2 feet deep in some sections of the road.
“While isolated heavy showers could develop over all islands, the main threat for heavy showers and thunderstorms will be along a band of moisture currently stalled over Maui and northern Big Island,” the advisory said. “This band may drift northward on Wednesday night.”
Meanwhile a high-surf advisory is set to go into effect today for the north and west shores of Oahu, Kauai, Niihau and Molokai and the north shore of Maui. Surf of 15 to 20 feet is expected for the north shores of those islands as well as the west shores of Kauai and Niihau, the weather service said.
The west shore of Oahu should get waves of 10 to 15 feet.
The advisory is in effect until 6 p.m. Thursday.
Bacteria levels high at several beaches
The state Department of Health’s Clean Water Branch has posted advisory signs at various beaches on Hawaii island and Maui to notify the public of high levels of enterococci bacteria.
Stuart Yamada, chief of the Environmental Management Division, said the high count is due to stormwater runoff associated with heavy rainfall.
Water samples collected Thursday showed bacterial levels at South Kihei at 1,184 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters, far exceeding the recreational water quality standard of 130 cfu per 100 milliliters. At Launiupoko Beach Park the count was 364 cfu.
On Hawaii island, water samples collected at Kona Coast Beach Park had levels of 384 cfu.
Health officials warn the public that contact with the water can cause nausea, stomach pains, diarrhea, fever or infection to the eyes, ears, nose and throat.
HAWAII ISLAND
Suspect enters guilty plea over shotgun-blast killing
KAILUA-KONA >> A Hawaii island man pleaded guilty Monday to fatally shooting another man near a homeless camp on the Big Island and then discarding the body along a highway.
Gafatasi Napoleon, 30, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection with the October killing. Murder and several other charges were dropped as part of a plea deal, West Hawaii Today reported.
Napoleon told the judge he loaded shotgun cartridges with rock salt and shot Alanaokala Solomon Covington in the chest.
He said he only meant to hurt the 36-year-old victim, not kill him.
“I expected it to just sting,” Napoleon said. “I didn’t think it’d go through.”
Authorities were acting on an anonymous tip about a possible killing when they found Covington’s body buried under lava rock and dry concrete along Highway 190 in North Kona. A witness testified at an October hearing in the case that he and Napoleon had initially planned to assault Covington.
“I knew we were going to beat the (expletive) out of somebody,” Rex King testified, adding that Napoleon did not seem upset after the incident. “He didn’t panic, he didn’t freak out. But neither did I.”
Napoleon was arrested a week after the killing.
The Kailua-Kona man faces six to eight years in prison when he is sentenced in May.
