When homes on Kukea Circle flooded, Ricardo Taveira, who lives on the street, posted a viral video on social media and offered help and a phone number.
“I am here to help, if you need help,” he said. “Jet ski is ready to go. If you need help, I am going to write down my telephone here. Kukea Circle, I’m here. I’m not leaving. I am staying here for the storm.”
Behind him, cars were under water.
A catastrophic Kona Low storm hit the state this past weekend and led thousands to evacuate parts of the North Shore.
In two days, his post had more than 16,400 likes.
“Not all heroes wear capes, apparently they wear wetsuits,” wrote Tia Morales in the comments. “Mahalo mahalo for your bravery and kōkua to our people in need!”
Evacuation orders
Back-back Kona low storms have pummeled the Islands this month, causing widespread power outages, and flooding homes, farms and roads. Gov. Josh Green estimates damages could top $1 billion statewide. As rain continued to fall last weekend on already saturated ground, concerns mounted that Wahiawā Dam might fail, which led to evacuation orders for about 5,000 residents of Haleʻiwa and Waialua.
About 10 to 15 houses on Kukea Circle flooded and lost power, Taveira said. Even though he lives on the same street, his house didn’t lose power, so he used social media to offer help to his neighbors and rescued cats and dogs, organized a volunteer cleanup, and connected a 97-year-old neighbor on the street with a daughter, who lives in Mililani.
“I assured his daughter that he was better here, than leaving here,” Taveira told Aloha State Daily on Monday. “The driving was nuts. ... His house was OK. It was dry because the whole circle wasn’t totally underwater, only parts of it.”
A ʻlittle village’
Kukea Circle is a North Shore community located just one road back from Waialua Beach Road, not far from the ocean and Kaiaka Bay. The homes stretch in a fan shape, with the middle part of the street closest to the ocean.
“It's about total of nine blocks,” he said. “We are all neighbors. We all see each other all the time. … It is a little community. Everybody sees each other every day, pretty much. It's like a little village.”
After Taveira’s post on social media, people called to ask for help. Others stepped up with donations of “everything that you can imagine,” including toilet paper, cleaning supplies, generators, gasoline and shovels, he said.
“It was just amazing, the amount of support,” Taveira said. “And it just didn't come from me. There's so many other organizations and people also promoting cleanups and stuff like that. I was just one of many because I live in an area that got really affected.”
Some of his neighbors still do not have power, he said. Earlier this week, Taveira started the day by making neighbors breakfast and hot coffee — one of many things that becomes impossible when the power goes out.
A new day and the search for appliances
The water has since receded, revealing homes covered in mud.
“Every day, it's been a different battle,” Taveira told ASD on Tuesday. “Right now, I am collecting donations for appliances.”
He is looking for connections who are able to purchase new appliances at wholesale rates and donations to help make the purchases. Items his neighbors need include washers and dryers, refrigerators, stoves, microwaves, beds and sofas.
“I think I've collected already around five grand between yesterday and today,” he said. “And I'm hoping to get another five grand with the post that I recently did.”
While the water has receded from homes, the damage remains.
“One of the Filipino families in Kukea Circle, they lost everything,” Taveira said. “I went to her house to see if they were doing fine today. She was washing clothes in a bucket of water.”
$10,000 to ʻhelp my street’
Taveira does not have a GoFundMe account. Instead, he is asking family and friends to donate to Venmo, PayPal and Zelle.
“With my calculation, I need about $10,000 to at least help my street,” he said. “Whatever is left over, I'm going to save it for down the street — the intersection of Waialua Beach Road and Haleʻiwa Beach Road — where all those houses got destroyed. Then, I'm going to be sending these appliances that I can get towards them.”
Follow Taveira on Instagram for information about cleanup efforts and how to donate.
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
