The National Weather Service canceled a flash flood warning for parts of southeast Hawai’i Island yesterday as rainfall eased. But community members in Puna aren’t letting their guard down.
"Puna is massive. We have not nearly enough first response to cover this population base," said Fern Acres resident Claudia Ziroli.
"So we need to be able to stand up and take care of each other," she said.
In one of the recent storms, parts of the Fern Acres neighborhood where Ziroli lives were without power for four days. Ziroli said community members are used to looking after themselves, but the threat of flooding is a cause for concern.
There's only one road in and out of Ziroli's neighborhood, and it travels over a sugarcane-era, two-lane bridge.
"That is our big fear for all of us in these upper Puna subdivisions, because we're all locked behind single bridges," Ziroli said.
Ziroli, who leads the Community Emergency Response Team in Fern Acres and heads the Puna Mākaukau Resilience Hub, said she is monitoring water levels and emergency alerts closely. She’s also communicating with Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense about the conditions on the ground in Puna.
While Ziroli hopes that this storm system will pass without any serious impacts, she said that Fern Acres is "ready for whatever's coming."
A flood watch remains in effect for Hawaiʻi Island until Friday afternoon.
