Dam in Hawaii Bursts; Seven People Missing

HONOLULU - A dam on the Hawaiian island of Kauai apparently failed Tuesday, sending torrents of water gushing from a reservoir to the Pacific Ocean, the Coast Guard said. Seven people were reported missing.
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There was no warning about the dam's strength or the amount of water in the reservoir behind it, Morita said.

"I think everybody was taken by surprise," she said.

Ray Lovell, a spokesman for state Civil Defense, said he could not provide details because his office was still learning about the incident.

Kauai is the westernmost of Hawaii's main islands.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060314/ap_on_re_us/dam_burst

They probably truly were taken by surprise. As opposed to... oh, Katrina

It will be interesting to learn the history of this dam...from everything I have read so far dams show signs of break down before they actually burst!!!

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Mar/14/br/br05p.html

Seven missing after dam bursts on Kaua'i

• Do you have photos or video of the Kaloko Reservoir break? Call (808) 525-8079.

Advertiser Staff

Seven people are reported missing and at least two houses were swept away in the breach of the Kaloko Reservoir dam, which burst at 7:30 this morning, releasing more than 300 million gallons of water down the North Shore of Kaua'i, the Coast Guard and state civil defense officials said.
Dave Curtis, spokesman for the state Civil Defense, said there were unconfirmed reports of additional missing people from the collapse of the reservoir.

Officials with Coast Guard base Sand Island, which sent a C-130 Hercules and H-65 Dolphin helicopter to Kaua'i, said it received a report from the Kaua'i Fire Department of seven people unaccounted for. Kaua'i fire officials did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment.

"At this moment we haven't received word that we've recovered anybody," said Coast Guard spokeswoman Chief Marsha Delaney. "What we have heard is the fire department has recovered someone at this point."

The Coast Guard aircraft are searching a two-mile area around the mouth of Kilauea Stream and Kilauea Bay.

Delaney said the aircraft have the "same mission — try and find people and direct boats to that area."

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