Sharmaine Arial has experienced many extreme weather events in her Waialua home, but she's never seen flooding like this.
Muddy floodwaters swept through most of Oʻahu's North Shore on March 20, lifting homes and cars, and prompting evacuations of more than 5,000 residents.
Floodwaters rose up to waist-level, according to Arial, who evacuated with her mom, daughter, grandchild and three dogs in a small Toyota Corolla.
“We made it out of this road, which was a river all filled up waist-deep, and then it was deeper,” she said while pointing down the street from Kukea Circle.
Arial eventually returned home and saw the damage to her property. But she didn’t want to feel powerless waiting for help. Instead, she wanted to help her community who were also affected.
With supplies already on hand and what was given to her when she and her family sought shelter at the Wahiawā District Park, she and her mother, whose name is also Charmaine, got the idea to start a community hub out of their garage.
It started with a table with a few cleaning supplies, toiletries and cases of bottled water. Then, she posted it on social media.
“I posted a video on my page, and it just blew up,” she said. “It got bigger. … Then I ended up with four pop-up tents and way more tables.”
Her spot is now called “Sharmaine's Hub” located at Kukea Circle. Now, more people have been donating to her to give to other flood victims. Some have even donated to her from the continental U.S.
From canned food to clothes and cleaning supplies to baby essentials. If someone needs it, she's got it.
Her home is filled with donations. In the alleyway of her garage is where she and her mother filter out supplies to ensure it's in quantity condition.
Arial said she was inspired by how quickly the community was able to respond during and after the floods.
“It's basically people helping people,” she said.
She emphasized that she doesn’t need anymore clothes, but is in need of push brooms, trash bags and charcoal.
Her hub is also seeking futons and air mattresses for residents who can't return to their homes. Arial said there have been residents camping outside of their families' homes.
“Because a lot of people can't stay in their house, and a lot of them don’t have family down here,” she said. “If they do have family, their family’s house is way too packed to bring more people to stay.”
Coconut wireless
On a recent Thursday morning in Waialua, two cars stopped by her hub to drop off donations.
The word has spread through the coconut wireless about her community hub.
“One aunty told a family member they have on Molokaʻi, then they contacted me just by word-of-mouth,” she said.
Arial has a separate tent full of donations for Molokaʻi, which was also affected by massive flooding.
She's packed hazmat suits, safety masks, goggles, clothes, diapers, baby formula and more to prepare to send it over to Molokaʻi by a small cargo plane.
As of Monday, Arial said the supplies will be picked up today and sent out by this Friday.
As some of the larger community-led donation hubs have ended their operations in North Shore, there are few residents who have been operating from their own homes.
Arial said her hub is open 24/7 and it’s basically her full-time job of volunteer time. She hasn’t been ready to go back to her day-job as a housekeeper at the Ritz-Carlton Oʻahu, Turtle Bay because she's still fixing up her property.
She added that she’s more needed here in the community anyway.
“We’re gonna be here until nobody wants to donate and nobody needs anything,” she said.
