Lane lashes Hawaii’s Big Island
Lane continued lashed the Big Island Friday with torrential downpours, CBS Honolulu affiliate KGMB reported. The Big Island appears to have taken the brunt of Lane. More than three feet of rain in some places triggered widespread flooding and closed roads.
The main town of Hilo, population 43,000, was flooded Friday with waist-high water as landslides shut down roads.
Margaret Collins, 69, woke up Thursday night to sounds in her Hilo backyard.
“So I got up out of bed and looked out my bedroom window and saw water 3 feet high gushing past my window,” she said.
“And that’s when I realized I was standing in water.”
Collins called a neighbor for help, who crawled through bushes to bring her out of the house, half-carrying her as she clutched a plastic bag with medication.
The water knocked down a cement wall and lifted her truck out of the carport, sending it toward her neighbor’s house, she said.
“My house is completely inundated with mud-water,” said Collins, who was told the damage wouldn’t be covered by insurance. She hopes she can get federal assistance.
