Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-03-20
Streets Run Into River, Wide
Devastation is Found When
Storm Waters Subside
Continued from page oneJ


Never in the history of the Honolulu
weather bureau has such storm
swept the island as occurred yesterday
and last night. Weather bureau rec
crds Were smashed right and left anC
damage 70 property. both public and
private, will run into six figures.
According 10 the report OF the
weather bureau, 1896 inches fell Ia
the "a hours from s o'clock yesterday
morning to the same time this morn
ing. an amount equal to almost
three times the former record of 500
inches. which happened March 1916
1908. In recent years the largest rain.
fail occurred January 17-1S, 1916, when
AS inches fell From noon yesterday
until this morning there was 1888
inches Of RAIN, which. Is another record.
This morning it was impossible To
say whether weather bureau, records
for five or. ten minutes and one and
two hOursswere broken, as 1t had not
been computated, but, according to A.
NJ. Hamrick. chief Of the bureau, he
does not believe, they were. There
was no extremely heavy deinge. the
rain simply falling continually result
Ing In the 24-houT record being broken.
{ The damage TO city streets was ire.
mendOns. George Collins. city and
county engineer. said this morning. AL
though many OF the streets are still
passable and repairs may not be alb.
soiutely necessary, the actual destr1c.
tiOn done was close to $4,000, Collins
said At 9 O'clock Reports from ali
districts were not then In, but Collins
believed that the above amount was
q close estimate.
Malsid Plume ureaks
The biggest destruction was done by
the breaking OF the Makiki flume
which let loose huge volumes of water.
u swept down the hill carrying every.
thing before e and at the end, OF
streets such a. Kewalo the property
was severely damaged. the water ear
rying away valuable plants and shrubs
and tearing up the land,
Everywhere yards are filled with
dirt and rubbish md many which are.
lower than the street level are under
water The Kalihf district resembles
q lake as also does Kapiolanf Park.
Tue low section. Of Palama Is also
flooded and last night It was absolute
" Impossible @ Get t1fUsigh Moanalaa.
New Isisercvefnents Little spaasusd !.
In all this destruction, however,
there Is nof bright light n that the
damage 10 the two biz Improvement
Manc4 and Kalakaha, was
slight In the Manoa valley only a.
small section q curbing which would
have had 70 come out anyway was
and q short strip Of curb.
ing On Kalakalih avenue Will have tOl
be reset The entire cost 70 the con-
tractors Will not De $4,000. The rain
lall there. according 10 the gauge Of
The road department. was $50 inches.
Private property, however, suffered
particularly on East
Manoa read, where the water coming
Town Adolph street deposited rubbish
n the yards.
Electric Plant unlnlured
William Frazfe, superintendent OF
he electric light plant In Nuuanu val
ey, reported that no damage was done
% the plant The rainfall there was
y inches,
On the other side of the island the
ew reports which came into the road
showed that the storm
here was also severe. doing damage
equal to that Of the storm two weeks |
lgo except that no more bridges were
washed out but more sections Of road |
way were made impossible and pri- I
rate property badly washed out. There
vas no obstruction reported from Wa
:apltoI sssement Nearly Flooded
Twice last night the fire depart |
nent was called out to save the base
nenf Of the Capitol building from
looding The heavy rains we're pour
ne great streams into the square.
pen depfessions around the outside |
4 the lower floor which give light |
nd air for the basement offices. The |
lood poured from the lawns into these |
oles and threatened TO inundate the |
Fire Chief Thurston sent !
III the nig gasoline engine No. with /
crew from the Central station at 10
clock and pumped out the depres.
ions. and at midnight the, crew |
vas called on again. This time the /
ngine pi1mped from IL to AIS and !
aved the basement from being filled 1
18th two or three feet Of water.
The fire department was also asked
o pump out the basement of the
Iaclfel,l building, which was flooded.
nd q Chinese mill colnpany on river /
treet had q similar experience.
leach Walk Seetion Inundated
The terrific rains poured water into
be lOMlying Beach Walk section as
lt0 bathtnb and the water stood
rom six inches to a foot and a half
eep over a large part of the tract.
allure on the part Of the city and ter
tory to carry out either the Waikiki 1
or the district drainage
ch6me has put this section at the +
lercy Of such Foods
This morning residents asked the /
I'd or the fire department to pump L
ut the oveffloped lots. as houses
ere cut off from access to the streets L
nd residents were temporary ma
1oned. The fact that the section has
scently been improved with concrete +
Ireets d responsible Tor much Of the \
God. az the high. solid streets pre- 4
emf the water from draining away.
mall Houses Swept Away. L
Along several Of the streams that