Hawaii, 2002

Flash Flood in Hawaii, October 15, 2002

October 15, 2002 · NWS HFO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Severe flash flooding occurred in the Kula area of East Maui near Waipoli Road. A deluge of water sent boulders, mud, and large eucalyptus trees down a steep mountainside gulch in a nearby subdivision.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$90,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.

Severe flash flooding occurred in the Kula area of East Maui near Waipoli Road. A deluge of water sent boulders, mud, and large eucalyptus trees down a steep mountainside gulch in a nearby subdivision. One resident described the sound of the flash flood to be like Niagara Falls, thunder, and a freight train. Damage to an 8-inch iron waterline in a gulch near Kawehi Place left 400 homes without drinking water. Rainfall from spotters in the area was measured at a rate of 5 to 6 inches per hour. There were no reports of serious injuries.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Honolulu, HI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 15, 5:00 AM HST, 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 15, 5:00 AM HST, 15 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Maui

When
October 15, 5:15 AM HST to 7:30 AM HST
Where
Maui County, 6 mi E of Wailea
Property damage
$90,000
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
20.868, -156.617 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Hawaii in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, October 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5325081.