The latest assessment of storm damage in Windward O'ahu shows 111 homes in a 20-mile stretch from Kahuku to Kahalu'u suffered at least some flooding from last week's heavy rain, according to the American Red Cross.

Of those, 23 sustained damage from 3 feet or less of standing water, and four families had more than 3 feet of water and sustained major damage to their homes, said Coralie Matayoshi, American Red Cross director for the Hawai'i chapter.

The latest estimate is more than five times the number of homes with water damage that were counted in an assessment conducted by state officials on Saturday.

Relief workers have spent the past few days walking around neighborhoods and assessing needs to prepare for the opening of a state Civil Defense Disaster Assistance Recovery Center, Matayoshi said.

Officials weren't ready yesterday to say when the recovery center will open.

"People are still cleaning up out there," said Ray Lovell, state Civil Defense public information officer. "We need to wait to see what the weather holds and to give people time to figure out what they need. We're looking at Thursday or Friday for our center."

Lovell said the relief center, weather permitting, will provide residents access to state health department counseling, Red Cross for shelter, and low-interest loans from the state and county — every agency that will help.

"Our main focus here is on the individual and the family and how they're suffering," Lovell said. "Our job is now to coordinate all the help that is out there to help in the recovery effort."

DAMAGED CROPS

For some residents, any help is appreciated.

Thomas Law of Law Tieng Farms said he spent much of yesterday pruning off black spots caused by the flood from his delicate basil plants.

Law has grown basil, ong choy and taro leaves on his farm in Kahuku for the past 15 years. About 60 percent of his crop was damaged by the water, which in some places is 3 feet deep.

"The basil is totally lost," Law said. "We are trimming the plants now and hopefully they will grow back again. If not, I'll have to replant and regrow them."

Kaela Miller, a lifelong La'ie resident, said she's grateful the flood wasn't worse than it was. She said she's also glad the community recently installed a sewer system, removing the threat of overflowing cesspools.

Miller and her friends and family stayed up all night Thursday fighting the flood and spent the weekend cleaning up the mess the water left behind.

"We cleaned it all out this weekend," Miller said. "We had two to three feet of water inside the house. Others were much worse off than me. I tell myself I should be grateful, that it wasn't as bad."

EVERYONE PITCHING IN

Red Cross workers yesterday also were called to areas of Kane'ohe and Kailua that may have suffered damage from the excessive rains that caused landslides, flooding and a power outage.

The hardest hit area, however, was the stretch from Kahuku to Kahalu'u, where city refuse crews and Air National Guardsmen spent yesterday aiding in the cleanup effort.

Guardsmen cleared under bridges and in culverts, and city refuse workers drove through neighborhoods picking up discarded, storm-damaged items and green waste.

City crews will return today to pick up more discarded items to help the community recover, city spokesman Mark Matsunaga said.

City crews also are busy cleaning up standing water and flooded areas around the island to prevent mosquito and water-borne illnesses.

CONTAMINATED WATERS

In all areas where the flooding reached the ocean, warning signs remained posted at beaches telling the public to stay out of the water.

Some of the contamination resulted from eight separate spills totaling almost 180,000 gallons of untreated wastewater that occurred during the heavy runoff.

The Department of Health said it expects the results of its tests from the water around O'ahu's beaches sometime today.

In the meantime, the public is urged to stay out of brown or murky water, a color that denotes wastewater spills and possibly high bacteria levels.

The DOH said yesterday that in some areas, particularly at Kailua Beach, the warning signs to stay out of the contaminated water have not been heeded.

Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.