The storm’s devastation on Maui was far-reaching, impacting residents, businesses and farmers. A large siphon pipe also burst, causing water to stream into their sky and taking away precious water supplies from many locals.

On Maui, crews are still responding to several power outages, which are impacting more than 200 customers in Pukalani, Kula, Haiku, Wailuku, Lahaina and Hana, according to Hawaiian Electric. Hawaiian Electric asked these customers to be prepared for the potential of at least another day without electricity.

Employees from Oahu flew to Maui Wednesday morning to assist with the outage restoration. There were 200 employees solely focused on restoration work, according to Hawaiian Electric.

In upper Kula, storm runoff water and downed trees were blocking roads, which needed to be removed, preventing the use of an off-road vehicle or helicopter to access the area. Instead, crews were hiking in to make repairs.

Hawaiian Electric said Haleakala Crater summit would be without power for an extended time due to downed power lines in the areas.

Tuesday night, Hawaiian Electric was able to restore power from Pukalani to Hana after crews repaired a broken pole in the Makawao area.  

In Central Maui, the Wailuku Water Co.’s Waihee Ditch siphon pipe that crosses under Wailuku River above Happy Valley was “completely blown out” on Monday morning as a result of the storm, according to Hui o Na Wai Eha, a nonprofit that is focused on the health of streams. Footage of the pipe break showed water blasting about 60-feet into the sky.

The ditch is a relic of a 100-year-old plantation infrastructure, and it provides about 70% of county drinking water to Maui residents, according to Maui News. The storm strengthened Wailuku River’s water flow and created rock movement in the riverbed, which might have struck the siphon pipe.

Hui o Na Wai Eha said they are in touch with the State Commission on Water Resource Management.

“This is a major issue and the last thing we want is to have Wailuku Water Company slip in unnoticed with machines and equipment illegally like they did in 2016 in Iao Valley,” said Hui o Na Wai Eha in a Facebook post, referring to when the water company did stream work after a flooding event that protesters and Earthjustice lawyers said sent brown water and loose sediment down the river, and attempted to realign the river.

“We are asking the State to request WWC to reduce flow in the pipe for safety measures yet ensuring kuleana farmers who rely on the WWC System still have access to water,” Hui o Na Wai Eha's post continued. “If you see any activity occurring in that area, please notify us immediately.”

Those who use water from this area include Mahi Pono, Maui Tropical Plantation and Native Hawaiian kuleana kalo farmers.

Lehia Apana, who along with her husband owns and operates Polipoli Farms, an agroforestry farm, which is located in Waiehu in Central Maui, said a river that runs through her property had dried up as a result of the siphon break.

The storm also caused several large trees to uproot or completely snap in half on their farm, and a lot of the crops they grow, like bananas and mamaki, an endemic tea plant, were damaged.

When they went out Monday to assess the damage of the farm’s plants, Apana said it was “like I was identifying bodies, because to us it’s our family.” She described it as heartbreaking.

“Fortunately, we had our family just show up with chainsaws in hand, ready to work and ready to help us,” Apana added. “The support has completely eclipsed the hardship of it.”

She said they were able to cut hanging trees that might fall and staked plants that might be able to regrow. Now, she is hoping they will be able to acquire more mamaki seedlings, so they can start replanting their farm and hopefully not have too long of a lapse in sellable products.

“Besides the emotional toll of losing the plants, the financial side is definitely a worry moving forward,” Apana said. Although, she said much of the burden has been lessened by all the support they have received, and knowing they are safe now.

Many residents in Kula were also without water, according to the Maui Board of Water Supply, and it was not just because of the pipe break at Waihee Ditch. They said there were multiple breaks in hard-to-reach locations and that power outages, mud and downed trees were hampering repair efforts.

Potable water is available at Fong Store, Ulupalakua Ranch, Kula Community Center, Kula Fire Station, Rice Park and Silversword Condo. The Maui Board of Water Supply asked residents to conserve water until services were restored.   

Maui County Emergency Management Agency said a recovery hub was opened Wednesday at the Mayor Hannibal Tavares  Community Center, where bottled water, food boxes and charging stations to recharge mobile phones would be available. They also opened the Crisis Cleanup line for individuals who were impacted by the storm and require mud clean out, removal of debris and other requests. If you would like assistance, please call 211.

Four Maui parks remained closed Wednesday, including Kaa Point at Kanaha Beach Park, Keokea Park, Waihee Beach Park and Kalepolepo Park. County officials said they would reassess damage at athletic fields Thursday morning.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources also closed Kula State Forest Reserve, Kahikinui State Forest Reserve and Polipoli Spring State Recreation Area as it works to remove hazardous trees and repair roads and trails as well as damaged drainage infrastructure.

In Kula, Kekaulike Avenue between mile marker 8 and Alae Road was closed Monday due to fallen trees and a landslide. The state Department of Transportation noted that it would need to remove the fallen trees and replace downed poles. DOT had no new updates on the road as of Wednesday afternoon.

DOT also reported several traffic signals in the Kula area were out due to a power outage and advised the public to treat them as all-way stops.

Department of Education, Kamehameha Schools and other Maui schools all reopened Wednesday.

Maui residents are encouraged by the county to report and document storm-related damage online at mauicounty.gov. This will help assist with determining if a Presidential Emergency Declaration of Emergency is warranted for the state of Hawaii. Questions about reporting damage can be directed to 808-270-7285.

“We know that Kula, Kihei and East Maui were greatly impacted by the recent weather system, and other areas were affected too,” said Mayor Michael Victorino. “Reporting damages online can help Hawaii to get needed FEMA funding to assist individuals as well as public assistance for infrastructure damage.”