Couple recount harrowing escape from Oahu floodwaters

HALEIWA, Hawaii –-  As the damaging floods struck their small town on the north shore of Oahu, Nahooikaika and her boyfriend, Nuutea Vanbastolaer, both 18, had been watching the water rise on the dirt road in front of their house.

Suddenly the floodwaters were at the window. It was time to go.

The couple and Vanbastolaer’s younger sister, 13, waded into the rust-colored current. Branches, road signs and even propane tanks floated by them. They quickly realized they were overpowered.

“It was like rapids,” Nahooikaika said. “The water was moving so fast. We got to a tree, and we just had to hang on.”

The Kona low weather system was the second of two storms in a week that saturated the soils of northern Oahu and left floodwaters barreling across coastal communities. Homes were knocked off their foundations, cars washed into riverbanks and streets were fully engulfed. The amount of rain that fell was the most in two decades, according to the National Weather Service.

Vanbastolaer, before fleeing down the street in Haleiwa, tried to wake his next-door neighbors. By the time he got the their attention, he says, the neighbors’ only option was to head to the roof and wait, because the floodwaters were at their door.

Vanbastolaer’s Toyota Tacoma, meanwhile, tipped on its side.

He, his girlfriend and younger sister proceeded to jump a fence in their backyard, he recalled, seeing it as the least dangerous way out. In the process, they realized they could no longer carry their hastily-packed go-bags, which contained computers, passports, clothing and other personal items. They surrendered the packs to the current.

“At this point, I was at my neighbor’s gate, and the water was chest high,” he said.

Vanbastolaer picked up his sister to keep her from floating downstream. That’s when Nahooikaika saw the tree and realized their best bet was to grab it, hold tight and hope for the best.

A firefighter patrolling the neighborhood spotted the three and came to their aid, steadying himself and ultimately the others with a surfboard. He led them safely to dry land.

With the floodwaters beginning to subside on Saturday, and even a touch of blue sky poking out above Haleiwa, Nahooikaika retraced her steps from the day before, in pursuit of her lost belongings.

“I’ve been looking for a while now,” she said. “Hopefully I’ll eventually find them.”

Other residents are also bereft of furniture, fences and vehicles.

“I’ve pulled out two cars this week,” said Shae Danon, whose pick-up truck had the dirt and grime to show for it.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green estimated that damage across the state had surpassed a billion dollars. Miraculously, no lost lives have been reported.

This article originally published at ‘It was like rapids’: Couple recount harrowing escape from Oahu floodwaters.