Hawaii flood damage is expected to exceed $1 billion

The picture of the devastation resulting from the worst floods to hit the US state of Hawaii in two decades is gradually becoming clearer, after the torrents swept away homes from their foundations, carried cars out of their parking lots, and covered floors and walls with a thick layer of red volcanic mud.

The authorities reported that hundreds of homes were damaged, in addition to a number of schools and a hospital, while new rains, the day before yesterday, caused an additional wave of floods in the south of the island of Oahu, while residents of the northern coast were busy cleaning their homes and assessing the losses caused by last week’s storms.

Although no deaths were recorded, more than 230 people were forced to seek rescue.

The state’s governor, Josh Green, said that the cost of the damage could exceed a billion dollars, and includes airports, schools, roads, and homes, in addition to a hospital in the Kula area on the island of Maui, describing the disaster as the most serious since the 2004 floods that drowned homes and the University of Hawaii library. On the northern coast of the island of Oahu, known for its giant surfing, water rose rapidly, as a result of heavy rains that fell on already saturated soil from a previous winter storm. The torrential floods uprooted homes and swept away cars, prompting authorities to issue evacuation orders to about 5,500 people north of Honolulu, before they were later lifted.

In the agricultural sector, losses were estimated at more than $9.4 million, as of the day before yesterday, including $2.7 million damage to the crops of Oahu farmers.