Hawaii suffers worst flooding in 20 years as residents told to ‘LEAVE NOW’ | US News

Hawaii is currently experiencing its worst flooding in more than 20 years, and communities in the hardest-hit areas are being urged to “LEAVE NOW” by officials.

One of the largest dams on the island of Oahu is at “risk of imminent failure,” the island’s emergency team warned on social media.

“There are about 4,000 people right inside the dam evacuation area,” said Molly Pierce, a spokeswoman for the Oahu Department of Emergency Management, according to Sky partner NBC’s newsroom.

“It could fail,” Pierce said of the 120-year-old Wahiawa dam.

The team also warned that the only road access out of the nearby town of Waialua was at “high risk of failure.”

“Residents in the Waialua area are strongly advised to LEAVE NOW. The remainder of the Waialua exit road is at high risk of damage if rainfall continues,” wrote the Emergency Management team at X on Saturday afternoon UK time.

More than 5,500 people north of Honolulu are under evacuation orders because of the severe weather.

This situation was exacerbated by the storm that occurred last week, which has left the land surface saturated with water and vulnerable to flooding.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green said losses from the storm could reach $1 billion (around £750 million), and airports, schools, roads, homes and hospitals were all damaged.

“This will have very serious consequences for us as a country,” Green said.

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Except for emergency workers, Hawaii state employees have been sent home to “allow families to focus on getting to safety,” he told reporters.

“With flash flooding disasters already impacting portions of Oahu, including evacuation orders on the North Shore and potential dam-related impacts, we are taking this situation very seriously.”

Oahu’s North Shore is known for its big wave surfing, but the area was submerged in vast, muddy floodwaters, as the floodwaters lifted homes and cars.

On social media, local residents held clean-up parties and rescue efforts, and one man filmed the moment he tried to rescue his neighbor’s cat from the muddy waters.

“Mahalo for your service to the community,” replied one Instagram user.