Rain abates in Hilo--but don't go to Rainbow Falls

[Obie]

Around midnight water from the Wailuku River started crossing over the Piihonua Bridge.

[Guest]

Wow markD... So much for intelligent discourse.

[ironyak]

Obie - You don't suppose the heavy police presence is due to the fact that water is running down Kaiulani Street and people are evacuating their homes ?

As the lockdown of Rainbow Falls began several hours earlier and it does not allow access to Kaiulani Street which was open and accessible at the same time, these events are separated in both time and space by hours and miles, so I wouldn't suppose they are connected. Except for maybe in a Norman Maclean sense - "Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it."

[ironyak]

RWR - Wow markD... So much for intelligent discourse.

Wow RWR... so much for the Aloha you wish Punaweb to have more of.

For now we see through waters, darkly; but then face to face...

[Obie]

I guess MarkD and others on here are the type of people who run toward tsunami's.

Running toward a raging river during a flash flood event doesn't make much sense to me.

Could the water be so high that it is undercutting the view area ? Who wants to climb over the railing to check?

I will watch the videos.

[benny]

It would seem that someone should have converted the Tsunami Watch Tower to a Hurricane Watch tower.... and turned the lights on...

Benny

[ironyak]

Obie - Running toward a raging river during a flash flood event doesn't make much sense to me ... I will watch the videos.

Made by the people running towards the raging river... cognitive dissonance much?

“The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it. " John Stuart Mill

[Obie]

"8/23/18 - Due to the approach of Hurricane Lane, ALL STATE PARKS ON ALL ISLANDS ARE CLOSED AS OF TODAY."

Does closed mean something I don't understand ?

http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/parks/hawaii/...tate-park/

[MarkD]

Obie: "I guess MarkD and others on here are the type of people who run toward tsunami's....Due to the approach of Hurricane Lane, ALL STATE PARKS ON ALL ISLANDS ARE CLOSED AS OF TODAY." Does closed mean something I don't understand ?"

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Good, Obie. Now you have articulated your criticism reasonably. You imply my views are idiotic/erratic. That's fine. (I'll make my counterpoints.) I'm sure others agree with you.

That's far from labeling someone (me) a troll, which generally involves baiting or posting fictitious/misleading posts in bad faith.

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Human nature means many people are compelled to view extreme acts of nature: raging river flows, lava flows, giant surf, tsunamis (which can be safely viewed from the lookout up belt highway past Bayshore Towers), fires, tornados, etc. Some people even engage, such as surfing storm surf, which despite what one would think, is not that dangerous, statistically speaking.

People do these things with situational awareness and paying attention to relative risk. But a few people have poor judgment and do foolhardy things like swim in the Wailuku River when the river flow is high. Or stick their head in a blowhole.

Some CD policies evolved based on foolhardy people. This causes problems for the rest of us. Closing "all" parks is not reflective of relative dangers. Hence people make their own judgments. CD doesn't like it, and many critics argue that is foolhardy. Be that as it may, many reasonable people will still make their own decisions about storm viewing.

Some relative risk factors: Based on the accurate hurricane mapping by the weather experts, people were able to deduce that dangerous winds were not going to smash Hilo. The only real danger here was/is heavy rain. Hilo more than any place is Hawaii is very experienced/set up to deal with rain. The town has enormous drainage channels. Hilo residents are very accustomed to driving in heavy rain. The Bayfront flooding is functioning exactly as it should (water collects before draining in the ocean).

The Reeds Island flooding shows some people built too close to the river. Some residents might need to relocate. The terrain at Rainbow Falls is much higher. There are many dangerous roads in East Hawaii, especially Hilo-Honokaa, flanked by hills and cliffs. This means a high potential of landslides onto cars. This road, Saddle Road and many others should be avoiding during flash flooding.

Meanwhile roads in central Hilo and many town parks have a high degree of safety in heavy rain. (Many locals revelled in the flooding in town parks yesterday!) CD might not like it; some people will argue that anyone who left their home in the past 24 hours was being reckless. OK. We are at a impasse. The impasse will continue....

[AaronM]

quote:

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Originally posted by Obie

"8/23/18 - Due to the approach of Hurricane Lane, ALL STATE PARKS ON ALL ISLANDS ARE CLOSED AS OF TODAY."

Does closed mean something I don't understand ?

http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/parks/hawaii/...tate-park/

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It must mean something I don't understand either. Ken's House of Pancakes closed but they did not post several armed guards to keep people away.