Kona Low storm causes Maui road collapse for third time in two years
A coastal road in Kihei, a resort community on the western shore of Maui, Hawaii, collapsed and broke sewer and water lines beneath it after a Kona low storm dumped more than 20 inches of rain across parts of Maui County last weekend. It is the third such failure on the same stretch of road in two years.
Stormwater undermined sections of South Kihei Road on March 14 and 15, Kono Davis, Maui emergency management agency deputy administrator told Hawaii News Now.
"Some road sections collapsed on South Kihei Road, which then broke some sewer and water lines, and so we have our crews on scene right now, diligently working," Davis said. "It's a real tricky one because we have power lines in the area. We have different utilities."
The same stretch failed during a January 2024 storm, when floodwaters washed out a water main and undermined the pavement near the 500 block, according to the Maui County Department of Public Works. The county closed the segment through Feb. 2024 for repairs. A second collapse followed a Jan. 30-31, 2025, storm, again forcing extended closures, the department said.
The recurring failures stem from a drainage system that county planning documents say cannot be resolved from below. The Kihei Drainage Master Plan directs the county to assess mitigation measures on the uphill side of the highway because drainage infrastructure below the road has limited capacity for modification, according to Maui County Department of Public Works records.
As of early 2025, the county was still conducting hydraulic and hydrologic studies, negotiating with private landowners to acquire drainageways, and seeking federal technical assistance to evaluate the feasibility of retention basins above the highway.
The March storm prompted Gov. Josh Green to declare a statewide emergency. Preliminary five-day rainfall totals showed multiple gauges on Maui and Hawaii Island topping 20 inches, with several new daily records set at official climate sites, Hawaii News Now reported.
About the Author
Sarah Kominek
Head of Content, Stormwater Solutions
Sarah Kominek is the head of content for Stormwater Solutions at Endeavor Business Media, a division of EndeavorB2B. Kominek graduated from Wayne State University in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and a minor in Communication. She worked as a reporter for Plastics News, a Crain Communications publication, for six years covering public policy and medical plastics.