Kauai disaster was triggered by record 24-hour rainfall

It really was a historic rainfall on Kauai — a national record apparently.

The National Weather Service said Wednesday that a rain gauge in remote Waipa, about a mile west of Hanalei, recorded 49.69 inches of rain during the 24-hour period ending at 12:45 p.m. April 15.

If certified, the total would obliterate the current U.S. record of 43 inches of rainfall in a 24-hour period set in Alvin, Texas, in July 1979.

Hawaii’s current record for rainfall in a 24-hour period is 38 inches recorded in January 1956 in Kilauea on Kauai.

A national committee is expected to examine the data and, if correct, certify it as a national record, weather officials said.

The torrential rainfall flooded buildings and roads and triggered landslides along Kuhio Highway that cut off the communities of Wainiha and Haena on the North Shore.

The state Department of Education announced Wednesday that it will open a temporary learning center today at the Hanalei Colony Resort to serve students who were cut off from their schools following the storm.

Students from Waikoko, Wainiha and Haena will be able to attend K-12 classes from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Five teachers will staff the temporary school serving 44 elementary students, two middle school students and five high school students.

Starting Monday the satellite classes will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“We truly are thankful for the assistance and support by the many agencies, businesses, community partners, government and other organizations in making these satellite classes happen,” Kauai Complex Area Superintendent Bill Arakaki said in a news release.

Breakfast and lunch will be served at the resort’s Opakapaka Restaurant.

The satellite classes are expected to continue until Kuhio Highway is open and safe to resume bus services, Arakaki said.

Elsewhere, state Department of Health officials announced Wednesday that there is no longer a brown water advisory in effect for the following beaches: Lawai Beach Park, Kukuiula Bay, Nukolii Beach Park, Wapouli Beach Park, Kapaa Pavilion and Prince Kuhio Park.

At the state Capitol, House and Senate lawmakers approved a bill Wednesday providing $100 million in relief for flood-ravaged communities on Kauai and Oahu.

In order to get immediate funding to Kauai to cover the upfront costs for repairs that need to be done now, lawmakers passed the state budget a week earlier than normal to allow the bill to move quickly to the governor for signature. The state constitution requires that the budget be passed before any other appropriations bills.