LIHUE, Hawaii, AP — One person was killed and up to seven others were missing when a rain-weakened dam failed on this western Hawaiian island, sending a wall of muddy water, trees and debris down the mountainside and prompting fears about the safety of other dams.
The water cut off access to and from thousands of rural houses and luxury condominiums along Kauai's rural north shore. At least two homes were swept off their foundations and several hundred feet of the island's main highway were washed out.
"Sounded like a 747 jet crashing here in the valley, all the trees popping and snapping and everything," said John Hawthorne. "It was just a horrendous sound, and it never quit."