A crew cleans storm debris out of the Ala Wai Canal in Honolulu, Hawaii, March 15, 2026. (Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources)
FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii — The Hawaii National Guard activated about 90 soldiers and airmen over the weekend to deal with emergencies arising from flooding and power outages from a massive storm that hit the state.
Members of the Guard’s high-water vehicle teams assisted 24 civilians who were endangered by flooding on the Big Island on Saturday, according to a Monday news release by the Guard.
On Maui, the Guard assisted the police department by manning four traffic control points Saturday and Sunday, the release said. The control points were in place to protect the public from flooded roads.
Most of the Guard personnel had stood down as of Monday, Jeffrey Hickman, a spokesman for the Hawaii Department of Defense, said in a phone interview that day.
A powerful subtropical cyclone that was roughly 1,500 miles northwest of Hawaii caused trade winds to shift toward the leeward side of the islands. The system brought overwhelming amounts of rain Friday and Saturday, resulting in flooding and toppled trees and power lines.
Army Garrison Hawaii curtailed nonessential operations on Friday, as flooding and outages affected Schofield Barracks in central Oahu. Normal operations resumed Monday, but power remained down in portions of the base.
The garrison on Sunday authorized temporary lodging allowance for uniformed personnel without power for more than 24 hours, areas that included those living in Wheeler Army Airfield Housing, Kaena Housing, Helemano Military Reservation, Mendonca Housing and soldiers in Wheeler Army Airfield Barracks.
The system had dissipated by Monday, but an estimated 18,000 customers were still without power, according to the Hawaii Electric Co.
As the storm approached, the Hawaii National Guard readied volunteer members to serve on high-water vehicle teams on the islands of Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hawaii, Hickman said.
The four-member teams use reconfigured combat vehicles whose chassis are high off the ground and can pass through deep water.
The Guard keeps several of the vehicles on the Oahu, Maui and the Big Island on a permanent basis to respond to such emergencies, Hickman said.
