HONOLULU – The City and County of Honolulu is urging the public not to enter storm-affected areas in Waialua and Haleʻiwa except residents, authorized workers, emergency personnel, or people involved in recovery efforts. Officials have received reports of individuals traveling into impacted areas to observe damage, creating dangerous conditions and slowing emergency and cleanup operations.
Storm-affected areas remain active emergency and work zones. Unnecessary travel into these areas is causing traffic congestion and creating safety hazards for emergency responders, repair crews, and utility workers working to restore services and stabilize impacted communities.
The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) is asking drivers to avoid unnecessary travel to Kaukonahua Road and the Otake Camp area in Waialua for the week of March 23 as storm cleanup operations continue. HPD officers are deployed in the area to provide traffic control and security in support of recovery efforts. Motorists in the area must follow directions from HPD officers managing traffic and restricting access where necessary.
“We understand that visitors to the island are concerned and want to see what happened, but these areas are still hazardous and remain active work zones,” said Honolulu Police Department Interim Chief Rade K. Vanic. “Additional traffic makes it harder for emergency crews to do their jobs and puts both workers and the public at risk. We are asking the public to please stay away unless you live or work in the area or are involved in active recovery efforts.”
Mayor Rick Blangiardi also urged the public to avoid impacted areas so crews can continue recovery work safely and efficiently.
“Our emergency crews and City teams are working around the clock to respond and recover from this storm,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “The public can help by staying out of impacted areas and allowing crews to do their jobs safely and without additional congestion or delays.”
The City will continue to provide updates through official City communications, HNL Alert notifications, and local media.
Anyone experiencing an emergency should call 911.
