During the worst flooding to hit Manoa Valley, Elaine Shigemoto had to stand on a sofa in her basement, holding onto the ceiling rafters to keep her head above water.

Shigemoto, 85, was watching a Japanese TV show that Saturday night in her Pamoa Road home when a tree limb smashed through a window and water rushed in, quickly filling the room with 6 feet of water. The only door to the room was blocked, so clutching her purse and her little dog, she held on from more than an hour until a neighbor left his own flooded home to check on her.

Firefighters had to break into the basement and pull her to safety.

That was a year ago today, and Manoa residents are still struggling to recover from the disaster, both physically and emotionally.

While federal money has been earmarked for work at the University of Hawai'i, no government money has been set aside to repair homes. Most people had to spend their own savings on repairs, and it will be at least a decade before substantial work is done to make the area safer from floods.

In six hours that night, 8.7 inches of rain fell in the valley. Debris collected at bridges and bends in Manoa Stream, pushing floodwaters over the banks and into more than 120 homes, causing an estimated $5 million in damage.

The water lifted cars like toys, made a river out of Woodlawn Drive and flowed through Noelani Elementary School, filling buildings with mud. The floodwaters then passed through Shigemoto's block and down to the University of Hawai'i Manoa campus, causing an estimated $83.4 million in damage there.

The flood also took an emotional toll, robbing residents of their sense of security in their own homes and leaving children with nightmares.

Said Shigemoto: "When it rains now, we all worry."

Nadine Nishioka, chairwoman of the Manoa Neighborhood Board, said state health and Red Cross specialists will be at the next board meeting Wednesday to discuss the flood's emotional effects on children. Several residents attended an Oct. 5 board meeting to discuss their problems since the flood and brought up the issue, she said.

"One parent said her kids wake up in a panic when it rains," she said. "One parent said their child doesn't even want to walk over the bridge in the rain. If they don't feel safe in their homes and school, where can they feel safe?"

State Civil Defense director Ed Teixeira said he is expecting $2.5 million to $3 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for some small flood-control projects this year.

"We are really stuck with a problem that is going to take some time and a whole bunch of money," he said at the board meeting. "Almost one year after that flood, you look around the neighborhood and you are at risk. I know you are at risk because every time I see a rain (cloud) over Manoa Valley, I'm very, very concerned. I'm amazed we didn't lose anybody that day. We came very close."

Shigemoto's home has been repaired. The injuries she suffered, including a deep gash in her leg, have healed. One of the most precious things she lost was her photo album, with treasured family photos, but she has started a new album with shots of her children and grandchildren along with pictures of the flood damage and the people who helped with the cleanup afterward.

The main damage in Manoa was on an eight-block area along Lowrey Avenue, East Manoa Road and Woodlawn Drive. Several other areas sustained damage including Loulu Street, Pinao Street and Wa'aloa Way. The footbridge connecting Pawaina Street was knocked off its footings.

On Pakanu Place, Mildred and Walter Yim suffered about $35,000 damage to their property when the water washed away a 60-foot-long deck and patio furniture. It also took out a section of the retaining wall next to the stream right behind their home.

"The water was so high and raging so quickly, like waves going up and down," said Walter Yim. "All this time I've tried to get some government help to rebuild my wall. To make it safe. I went to all the meetings. I inquired about getting loans."

Yim said he did have flood insurance, but it did not cover his unattached deck. To make matters worse, the city will not issue him a building permit to repair the retaining wall until he pays for an expensive soil sample test. He would like some government assistance to repair the wall because he fears another flood might hit the area and rip out more of his wall and property.

The area was declared a federal disaster in February, but money from FEMA applies only to public facilities such as roads, bridges and the university, not damage to individual homes. About 50 residents filed for federal flood-relief program loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration and about $290,000 has been awarded, but to be eligible, applicants must have been turned down for a loan by a private financial institution.

State Rep. Kirk Caldwell, D-24th (Manoa), said a bill to grant a tax credit to flood victims was opposed by the state Department of Taxation during the 2005 legislative session but will be looked at again next year, along with a bill to issue state bonds to repair flood damage.

If the bill passes this year, each homeowner who suffered damage from the flood would get a $2,000 tax credit. It won't cover most damage, but it will help, Caldwell said.

"It would provide some money for people who were harmed and want to apply for it in their taxes," Caldwell said. "Most people are shame asking for money. They may ask for a tax (refund)."

The Army Corps of Engineers is conducting an Ala Wai Watershed flood-control study that includes finding a solution for flooding in Manoa Valley. But the report is not expected to be completed until 2008. Derek Chow, of the Corps, said work to make the valley safer would cost about $100 million and take up to 10 years.

Caldwell said Manoa may benefit from its water connection to the Ala Wai and Waikiki with flood-control projects.

"You don't want a major flood that shuts down Waikiki," he said. "It would be a major black eye for tourism. That is where Manoa benefits from that leverage."

The U.S. Geological Survey has had gauges in Manoa Stream to track water flow since 1913. Since that year, the amount of water flowing downstream has been larger than last year's flood volume only 12 times.

The largest events were in 1921, when mudslides destroyed taro fields, and in 1965, when more than four times the amount of water as last year rushed through the valley to Waikiki.

"There was an era in the '20s when we had a whole bunch of storms and an era in the '60s with a whole lot of storms," said Rick Fontaine, a hydrologist with the Geological Survey. "You can't help but think that if history repeats itself, we are in for another period of storms."

Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com.