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Evacuations Ordered In Hawaii As Officials Warn 120-Year-Old Dam Could Fail

Honolulu officials have told thousands to evacuate as officials warn the Wahiawa dam could fail.

People are evacuated from Haleiwa, Hawaii, on a bulldozer Friday, March 20, 2026.
(Craig Fujii/Hawaii Civil Beat via AP)

Hawaii officials have ordered an evacuation in the area downstream of the Wahiawa dam as the 120-year-old dam might be overtopped. The area north of Honolulu has been inundated by heavy rain and catastrophic flash flooding has hit the island of Oahu.

Officials have told residents to leave the area immediately as the dam "may collapse or breach at any time." The warning adds that residents should carpool because of heavy traffic on the island.

Emergency sirens blared along Oahu’s famed North Shore, where rising waters also damaged homes. Honolulu officials issued a “LEAVE NOW” evacuation order at 5:35 a.m. Friday for Waialua and Haleiwa: “Extremely dangerous flooding and Wahiawa Dam is high.”

The North Shore of Oahu has been under flash flood warnings since early Friday morning. Officials have been watching dam levels since a storm dumped heavy rain across the state last week, causing flooding that washed away homes and roads. More rain is expected on the island through the weekend.

Floodwaters in Waialua, Hawaii, on Friday morning, March 20, 2026.
(Craig Fujii/Honolulu Civil Beat via AP)

A series of low pressure systems continues to dredge up tropical Pacific moisture and fling that moisture over the Hawaiian Islands. Given the very heavy rainfall in the first of these Kona lows last weekend in addition to these smaller system, the rainfall has really added up. Without an extended break, this flooding could continue for a while.

According to Senior Digital Meteorologist, Jonathan Belles, "This flooding in some ways is connected to the heat dome entrenched into the Lower 48. We often talk when one area of the country is seeing heat, another is seeing cooler, wetter weather." Belles adds, "Right now, the West is seeing heat and the East is seeing slightly stormier weather. Well, that pattern continues west, too. That cooler, wetter weather persists over Hawaii and into Alaska. Until some major storm system can shove this pattern into a different gear or the pattern can slowly break down, this flooding and heat will persist."

The Hawaii National Guard has been activated in response to the flooding. Governor Josh Green says, "The storm of course is very severe right now, particularly on the northern part of Oahu." He added, "It's going to be a very touch-and-go-day."

Most of the state was under a flood watch, with northern Oahu under a flash flood warning, according to the National Weather Service, which reported “widespread life-threatening flash flooding” particularly in Haleiwa and Waialua.