Maui residents Carrie and Tom Bashaw never thought they’d be sitting in their house for the last time on Friday. As the storm rolled in last weekend, they watched the ʻĪao Stream rise behind their home.
“We’re sitting in the house, and the river just kept getting higher, little noisier and a lot faster, and it looked like it was widening,” Carrie Bashaw told HPR.
Conditions quickly grew worse.
“Next thing we knew about 5 o'clock, our mango and monkey pod tree just silently slipped into the river and floated away,” she continued. “And shortly after that, the last of our invasive African tulip trees slipped in, along with the ladder and the bench that my husband made, and it just started eating the land from then.”
They started packing up and grabbing supplies. By 8 p.m., they left their home to sleep in their shipping container workshop farther back on the property.
At 5:30 the next morning, the Bashaws realized half their house had disappeared.
“Two bedrooms, one bath, living room, nook and lānai – gone,” she said.
Neighbors rushed over to help them salvage whatever they could.
“Everyone gave a hand,” Carrie said. “God bless them. They're the best neighbors in the world.”
Later that day, the other half of their home dropped into the turbulent water.
Carrie Bashaw grew up on Oʻahu and worked as a public school teacher. After they retired, she and Tom bought their Maui property in 2018 and moved in three years later.
“We designed and built the house ourselves,” she said. “My husband was the owner-builder.”
The two-bedroom, two-bath home sat on 2 acres. There was about 80 yards between the front of the house and the stream, according to Bashaw. It was their dream home.
“This was, this was everything we owned,” she said.
They were required to have hurricane insurance, but did not have flood insurance.
In their late 70s, Bashaw said she’s not sure what the future holds.
“We really don't know. I mean, we don't have the money to rebuild, pure and simple.”
For now, they’re sleeping on cushions in their container. Bashaw said their neighbors have offered their cottage for them to stay in after that.
Despite losing everything, Bashaw said they’re grateful for the Maui community.
“I want to say thank you so much for all your help, heartfelt support and generosity,” she said.
That support is extending to others in the valley as floodwaters have redirected ʻĪao Stream, bringing it dangerously close to other homes.
Volunteers are scrambling with assistance and cleanups — even moving one small home away from the stream's edge Wednesday — before more rain comes.
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