Flash flooding swamps Hawaii, prompting evacuation orders for 5,500 people

Oahu’s emergency office has ordered residents in the Waialua area to ‘leave now’ amid risk of road failures.Heavy rains have prompted widespread evacuations on the north shore of the island of Oahu, as the state of Hawaii experiences its worst flooding in 20 years.Early Saturday morning, Oahu’s Department of Emergency Management issued dire warnings for residents in communities like Waialua, part of the United States.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3At least 42 people killed in days of floods across Kenyalist 2 of 3At least 64 killed, dozens reported missing in Ethiopia landslides, floodslist 3 of 3Long before Trump: How US policy has harmed the environment for decadesend of list“Residents in the Waialua area are strongly urged to LEAVE NOW,” one message overnight read. “The remaining access road out of Waialua is at high risk of failure if rainfall continues.”Already, evacuation orders are in effect for nearly 5,500 people in the region north of the state capital, Honolulu.No deaths have been reported so far, but at least 200 people have been rescued as muddy, brown floodwaters engulfed streets and neighbourhoods. Ten people have been hospitalised with hypothermia after being plucked from the storm waters.A youth camp run by the organisation Our Lady of Kea’au was also evacuated, and 72 adults and children were airlifted from the site as a precaution, according to officials.Floodwaters destroy a home and topple trees in Waialua, Hawaii, on March 20 [Mengshin Lin/AP Photo]More rain is expected to bear down on the Hawaiian islands over the coming days.Governor Josh Green estimated that the damage could exceed $1bn in costs, and he described the floodwaters in some areas as “chest-level”.“We’ve evacuated the whole region now,” Green said in a video statement on Friday. He emphasised that the Hawaii-national-guard" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="47205" data-entity-type="organization">Hawaii National Guard was out in force to help with emergency efforts.