Shocked.
That’s how Roger Jacinto said he felt Wednesday morning as he surveyed a flooded parking lot fronting Hilo Bayfront.
Jacinto, 55, was among about 15 unlucky car owners who parked in the commuter lot early this week and returned to find their vehicles submerged — some in more than 2 feet of water.
“Last night, it was terrible; it rained nonstop,” Jacinto said, adding he planned to call a tow truck later this week once water levels subsided.
The flooding was a result of unusually heavy rainfall Tuesday that broke daily records for Hilo, flooded the parking lot and Bayfront soccer fields and closed portions of Kamehameha Avenue, Hilo Bayfront Highway and Pauahi Street for most of Wednesday, causing traffic to back up on neighboring roads.
The showers were part of a rainy weather pattern caused by “deep tropical moisture,” National Weather Service Forecaster Chris Brenchley said, along with moisture remnants from Tropical Storm Ulika.
The rain gauge at Hilo International Airport recorded 3.13 inches Tuesday alone — crushing the previous Oct. 4 record of 0.89 inches set in 1963, Brenchley said. The airport registered 9.78 inches between Friday and Wednesday morning.
The gauge at Mountain View recorded 13.9 inches between Friday and Wednesday and 7.89 inches between Tuesday and Wednesday morning; Glenwood received 11.68 inches collectively during the five-day period and 5.45 inches from Tuesday to Wednesday. Waiakea Uka reported a collective 17.34 inches, with 10.77 inches between Tuesday and Wednesday.
Hawaii County Civil Defense received a report of debris in the Maulua Gulch north of Hilo on Wednesday that spokeswoman Kanani Aton said was caused by a small landslide.
The Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, which is currently undergoing roof maintenance as part of a construction project, also appeared to have interior flooding, However, county Parks and Recreation spokesman Jason Armstrong told the Tribune-Herald “there was no damage” and the roof was not left open.
Hilo resident Phillip Nihau, 57, who slept with a friend near Kamehameha Avenue on Tuesday night, said he hadn’t seen that much rain dump over the Bayfront in more than a decade.
“It started raining, and just didn’t stop,” Nihau said. “It just kept on going.”
Brenchley said the rest of the week should be drier. The NWS predicts conditions to gradually return to “normal trade wind weather” starting today. East Hawaii residents can expect between a half an inch to 1 inch of daily rainfall for the rest of the week, he said.
“The good news is, it looks like the wettest conditions are going to be tapering off pretty quickly over the next couple days,” Brenchley said. “(Today) and Friday (there might be) a typical trade wind regime, which still has some showers on the windward side but not as long lasting and intense as what we’ve seen.
“By the weekend, it looks like drier-than-normal weather which should persist into next week.”
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
