Worst Hawaii flooding in 20 years leaves many homes in mud: "We lost everything"

O'ahu nonmigratory Melanie Lee saw what's near of her location for the archetypal clip connected Monday aft the worst flooding Hawaii has seen successful 2 decades turned parts of the islands' emerald communities into mud. 

"We've been present astir 20 years. I mislaid ... We mislaid everything," Lee told CBS News. "My children's pictures. Just existent sentimental stuff. Now it's like, present wherever we spell from here?" 

Hawaii is conscionable opening the betterment from a brace of monolithic storms that unleashed up to 4 feet of rainfall successful parts of O'ahu and Maui implicit the past week, Gov. Josh Green said.

The latest tempest prompted evacuation orders northbound of Honolulu, wherever officials said much than 200 radical were rescued. In bluish O'ahu, members of the National Guard trudged done waist-deep h2o to assistance stranded drivers and mudbound homeowners. More than 2,000 radical were without powerfulness implicit the weekend. 

Vantor outer representation shows flooded farms, fields, and buildings adjacent Waialua with muddy tempest debris flowing into the water aft terrible rains caused large flooding. Satellite representation (c) 2026 Vantor/Getty Images

The land of Maui was besides deed hard. The tempest blasted down riverbeds, blew retired bridges and roads and swallowed vehicles. 

Officials haven't been capable to measure the demolition afloat but the outgo of the tempest could apical $1 billion, including harm to airports, schools, roads, people's homes and a Maui infirmary successful Kula, Green said.

"This is going to person a precise superior effect for america arsenic a state," the politician said during a quality conference. He besides said his main of unit spoke to the White House and received assurances of national support.

Among those displaced is Honolulu-born histrion Jason Momoa. In a video posted to Instagram, the "Aquaman" histrion said helium and his household near the North Shore and the powerfulness had gone out.

"We're harmless now, but there's a batch of radical who weren't, truthful sending each our love," Momoa said.

Residents and volunteers enactment connected cleaning up aft the Kona Low tempest flood that devastated the Otake Camp assemblage successful Waialua, Hawaii, connected March 22, 2026. Marco GARCIA /AFP via Getty Images

Carol Philips, the vice president of North Shore Chamber of Commerce, described 1 location wherever 8 radical were surviving arsenic conscionable "gone."

While nary 1 was killed successful the storms and flooding, and the worst of the storms has passed, the harm and betterment are some financially and emotionally costly.

As the communities successful Maui proceed to rebuild their homes and their lives 2 years aft the wildfires killed 102 people, the flooding added to the sorrow.

"We cognize for truthful galore radical the fires are 1 thing, and present to person flooding and successful immoderate cases their homes that they had conscionable moved into ... It tin consciousness overwhelming," said U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda, who represents parts of O'ahu.

In:

• Severe Weather
• Hawaii
• Flooding