Rain Day

I woke up last night very content, listening to the rain pounding down on the roof above me. I love the sound that the rain makes on the roof of this house. I was even happier when I realized it was only 1:30, and I still had a few more hours of sleep ahead of me.

But when my alarm went off at 5:45, the rain was still coming down with the same intensity that it had four hours earlier. Remembering the way the island filled with water the last time it rained hard, I was worried about what this storm would bring with it.

As we were getting ready for school, Kyle checked online to see if there were any school closures. WeatherBug was telling me to watch out for flash floods, but the schools were still open. I threw on my windbreaker and put on a pair of socks- it would be the first time I was actually wearing a pair of shoes for something other than a run.

As I closed the door behind me on my way out of the house, the rain was coming down harder than ever. It was still dark outside, so I went back in to get a flashlight so I could avoid puddles on the way out to the car. I took a look with the light, and there was nothing but water. About a foot deep, to be specific. It was to the point that I was worried about my car, Simple Gold. The water was only getting higher, and I didn't want to lose him to Mother Nature.

I also needed to get to school. I changed back into my sandals and waded through the water to my car. It started fine, and I backed out and onto dry land quite easily. Jess, another teacher at Wheeler from the North Shore, was already on her way to school, and she said that it was pretty bad. I had about an hour to get there so I wasn't too worried.

I took the narrow Crosier Drive to get out since I had been told that the Farrington Highway was a mess. Aside from a few huge puddles, it wasn't too bad. When I got onto Waialua Beach Road, it was smooth sailing until I reached what had once been a small stream. It was now a river that was pouring debris-filled water onto the road ahead of me. I couple small sedans were in front of me, and I figured following them would be a safe bet. So like a floating train, we slowly drove through this river. To the left, a car was stuck in about 3 feet of water, and the passenger was nowhere to be found. The water seemed to be getting deeper and deeper. My hands and feet were shaking, but I knew I had to keep going. Just when I thought it was over, I managed to veer to the right and up onto the bike trail which was still relatively dry. The rest of the road was blocked off by a police car, but I took a quick neighborhood detour and reached Kamehameha Highway, which would take me up to my school.

I thought from here I was home free, since this highway quickly gained altitude, and the higher you got, the less flooding. But I was wrong. The road was actually serving as a sort of canal for all the runoff. The first few creeks/puddles weren't too bad, but then I reached a really bad part where the drainage ditch to the right had given out and tons of water was flowing across the road. It was too bad to even turn around at this point. The truck ahead of me plowed on through, and I followed kind of closely, hoping to ride in the wake so that the water wouldn't be as deep. Once again, it just seemed to get worse and worse, and I felt like the water was closing in on me. I was just waiting for my car to die.

But Simple Gold wouldn't give up. We made it through to dryer land and kept going. The word through the grapevine now was that the roads around Wheeler were parking lots, so even if I did make it to Wahiawa, I'd still be a long time away from getting into my classroom. I could just imagine the kids waiting outside my door wondering what was going on as the first bell rang.

I reached the Dole Plantation at the top of the hill, where cars had come to a stop. They were taking turns fording yet another overflowing stream. This one looked pretty bad. I drove up and was about to attempt it when I had a revelation- making it to school on time was beyond my control at this point. Getting my car stuck in a flash flood was not. I backed up and pulled over on the side. School would have to wait.

Just then I got the great news. School had been canceled. But I still had to worry about getting back home. My roommate Greg pulled up beside me in his Jeep. After talking for a bit, he confessed that his school had been cancelled earlier that morning, but he decided to drive out anyways to have some fun and help anyone who needed it. I guess that's where our philosophies differ. I would have gone back to bed. Anyways, the plan was that I'd follow him back down the hill and then we'd park my car somewhere in Haleiwa, and then he'd drive us back to our house. Going down the hill wasn't so bad and I think the flooding had actually subsided a little. I parked my car by the Waialua Post Office and then Greg, Jess, and I set off to try to get home in the Jeep.

There are only two roads that lead out to our house- Farrington Highway and Waialua Beach Road which turns into Crozier Drive. First we tried Farrington, but it was closed off. I knew first hand that Waialua Beach Road had become Waialua Beach River, but Greg was willing to give it a shot. At this point, it was our only chance. When we reached the stream that was now a raging river across the road, there were a few cars stuck. Some were still going for it. After a little debate, Greg pushed forward. The brown water kept getting deeper and deeper, and if you looked out the window, you'd think you were in a boat rather than a car. You could see the wake that the car was creating. Just when I thought we were done for, we made it to the other side and were home free. As we drove off, I watched some people desperately trying to clear debris off the submerged bridge to keep the water from flowing into their homes.

Greg and I decided to turn around and help. Jess drove the Jeep home and we waded through the water to the bridge. The problem was that debris kept getting caught in the bridge's guardrail, making a virtual dam that was rerouting the water into people's yards. Several houses around the stream had already flooded. So for about an hour, we desperately pulled and plucked all sorts of debris from the railing, trying to let the water flow directly to the ocean. But it just kept coming. Finally a local bruddah with a camo shirt, gold scorpion neclace, and a chain saw showed up. He sawed through the metal railing, which was tough because a lot of it was underwater. Finally, we were able to remove the railing altogether, unblocking the river.

Greg and I hitched a ride back to Olohio St. and met up with the other roommates at our soggy home. It was only 9:30, but I felt like I had just put in a full day's work. The rest of the day was dedicated to relaxing and recovering.

Last year, if I had heard that school out here would be cancelled due to rain, I would have laughed. But it's no joke. I'd never seen a flashflood before. Next time it pours rain all night, I'm not even going to bother trying to make it up to school. I'm just going to move Simple Gold up to higher ground and go back to bed.