FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                               March 2, 2006

PUBLIC ADVISED TO AVOID ROADS

FROM WAIAHOLE TO KAHUKU

            Flooding from extremely heavy and prolonged  rain in Windward Oahu this afternoon has prompted road closures from Waiahole to Kahuku, and Oahu Civil Defense Agency officials are advising motorists to stay out of the area.

            The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the area this morning and it has been extended into the evening.

            The rain has caused localized flooding in many spots, as well as several landslides. Kamehameha Highway has been closed at several locations between Waiahole and Kahuku. A large landslide at Kahana Bay will take hours to clear, authorities on the scene report.

            “We’re advising everyone who lives on that side to stay away and make arrangements to stay elsewhere this evening if at all possible,” said Oahu Civil Defense Administrator William Balfour. “If you absolutely have to get to that side, be prepared for road closures and extended periods of waiting.”

            “The weather is still unstable, and the bottom line is, stay out the area,” said Balfour.

            An emergency evacuation shelter has been opened at the Hauula Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 54-208 Hauula Homestead Road.

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Contact:

            Oahu Civil Defense, 523-4121