HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – State, county and utility crews are responding to several incidents triggered by severe weather across the state.
Just before 11 a.m., a fallen tree blocked multiple lanes of Vineyard Boulevard in both directions between Nuuanu Avenue and Liliha Street.
Another downed tree blocked traffic along Punchbowl and Miller streets near Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu.
Crews also responded to a downed utility pole on Middle Street near Fern Elementary School that smashed into a car, just a few houses down from where a large tree toppled over and hoisted up another car.
Several residents living between the fallen tree and poles have no way of driving out of the now barricaded stretch of street.
“It (the tree) was loud, you just heard like a crack, and then just went down. Kind of just like trapped in between one big tree and then the downed poles on the other side,” said Gavin Freitas, whose home is right next to the tree, and whose cousin owns the raised car.
“It sucks, but I mean, it’s a matter of time,” Freitas added. “It was super windy, Mother Nature does her thing, it’s been wet.”
The wet weather made for a change of plans for a curious crew of neighbourhood children who stumbled upon the downed tree.
“We were just riding, planning to get McDonald’s, but we saw this and wanted to stay and find out what’s going to happen,” Dharel Aguilar said.
Aubrey Higa added, “It felt shocking because I heard a cracking boom.”
Thunder Higa shared, “When I was watching my phone on TikTok, I suddenly hear a big boom, turned around, called 911.”
View our gallery of weather-related damages:
In Manoa, strong gusts left leaves and other debris along roads.
“I’m really asking all citizens to really be aware of their surroundings,” Honolulu Department of Emergency Management director Dr. Randal Collins said. “Use good, safe judgment, turn around, don’t drown, don’t drive through rushing waters.”
Manoa resident Laura Pennington, who lost power for hours, said, “I woke to the house shaking, and you know, the normal whistling and whatnot, but the actual house shaking, and that was scary to me.”
Eddie Kim added, “I spent most of my childhood here in Manoa, and it’s famous for being rainy, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen something like this.”
At 5 p.m., the Honolulu Fire Department said it responded to 48 downed trees and 15 blown roofs incidents from shortly before 3:40 a.m. until 4:50 p.m. Sunday.
A downed light pole was also reported near Ala Lilikoi and Ala Lilia streets.
On Maui, Hana Highway is restricted to local traffic due to fallen trees and landslides.
Hawaiian Electric crews and contractors worked through the weekend to address outages on Oahu, Hawaii Island and in Maui County, many caused by trees and weather-related debris blown into power lines.
As of 9 p.m. Sunday, HECO advised customers to prepare for potential extended overnight outages due to strong winds and rain.
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Severe weather and strong winds cause fallen trees in multiple areas.
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