Maui Storm Update 3/23

Hawaii has been slammed with a record breaking Kona low (a ton of rain that’s caused major flooding in some parts) over the last couple of weeks. 

Here’s what that means for visitors to Maui…

The first wave of storms hit almost two weeks ago and that’s when Maui saw the worst of the flooding and storm damage.

Clean up began pretty quickly, but the lingering storms (hitting in back to back waves) slowed some of it down and caused flooding on other parts of the island. 

But now it looks like the storms are moving out and sunshine is on the way, so I would expect recover to start moving quickly. 

For now (as of 3/23), the Road to Hana past Twin Falls is only open to local traffic (they’re checking IDs at several checkpoints) so this is not an option for visitors. There’s not an announced date for reopening, but they’re working hard to reopen the road and I don’t think it’ll drag on that long. But if you’re visiting in the next 1-2 weeks, I wouldn’t plan on it. 

Haleakala National Park is still closed for road repairs. The Kipahulu District won’t reopen until the road past Hana reopens, but they could (and likely will) reopen the summit district sooner. Again, this doesn’t look like a month(s) long closure, but the next one to two weeks might be questionable. The park service is good about providing updates though. 

All resort areas in West and South Maui (Kaanapali, Kapalua & Wailea) are up and operating "normally."

Kihei saw the brunt of the initial flooding, but they’re making good progress getting things cleaned up. Kamaole II Beach Park got pretty torn up (a sink hole up near the road impacting some infrastructure) and north Kihei saw a lot of mud. 

Most businesses in Kihei are open and operating normally, but if you’re staying here you should contact your accommodations directly to find out what the situation is. 

Water at some beaches is still choppy/murky (NEVER swim in brown water!!!) and you should wait 48-72 hours after the rain stops before getting in the ocean. 

The good news is it seems like we’re starting the stop watch now and moving forward with recovery so even in a week, things will start to look a LOT different (for the better).