High Winds Batter
State
Residents
begin clean-up process after windstorm wreaks havoc across Islands.
J.M.
Buck
High
winds from a large low-pressure system north of the Hawaiian Island
chain Sunday downed trees and power lines, tore roofs from homes,
trashed properties and caused one fatality.
Much of the state was under high wind warnings from the National
Weather Service Sunday as gusts exceeding 50 mph were reported
in some areas of the state, including the summit of Haleakala.
Winds in Kahului were clocked at 49 mph.
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 Photo:
Paula Sandefur
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Clean
up time. Maui Examiner publisher J.M. Buck hauls
a fallen tree branch across her debris-strewn yard in
North Maui.
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Downed power lines caused 8,000 people on O‘ahu
to briefly lose power to their homes. On Maui, scattered power
outages affected customers in Ha‘iku and Olinda.
The high winds are being blamed for the tragic death of a toddler
on O‘ahu.
13-month-old Rylee Egbert of Kailua was with her parents on the
Maunawili Trail when a falling branch struck the child and her
father. The baby was airlifted by a rescue team to Castle Medical
Center emergency room, where she pronounced dead from a head injury.
In Kailua, O‘ahu corrugated roofs were torn from garages.
Branches and debris littered roadways and yards across the state.
Picking his way through downed trees, fallen coconut fronds and
mounds of leaves and broken branches, Huelo resident Ted Richardson
voiced his amazement at the devastation across his 2-acre property.
“Just one night and the place looks like it has been abandoned
for years,” he said. “I’ve spent all day hauling
debris out of the pool. It was unreal.”
The strong winds were also accompanied by high surf. Waves reached
over 25 feet on north-facing shores and exceeded 18 feet on west
shores.
Partly sunny skies with light and variable winds are expected
for the remainder of the week.
