LIHU'E, Kaua'i — An already sodden Kaua'i, traumatized by seven deaths Tuesday in the Kaloko-Wailapa dam burst disaster, flooded islandwide yesterday as thunderstorms drove incessantly from the south.

Dozens of residents in south Kaua'i communities fled homes that were directly flooded or were threatened by overtaxed reservoirs, or overtopping streams and ditches. Rain pounded the island during the day and into the night. The National Weather Service kept the island under a flash-flood watch all day.

Exhausted emergency workers draining the North Shore's Morita Reservoir — wet, cold and some working hip-deep in mud — were frustrated by the continued rain.

"If the rain keeps coming it's not going to help," said Bryson Taroma, a 19-year-old National Guardsman from Koloa who stood on the makai side of the reservoir's wall, surveying the operation yesterday morning. "The rain never used to be this bad."

And as night fell, the Coast Guard delivered a grim epitaph on the day: After searching vast stretches of ocean off Kaua'i, it suspended its search for the remaining five people swept away Tuesday.

"Our hearts and prayers go out to the families who have suffered a loss in this tragic event," said Petty Officer Michael De Nyse. "The Coast Guard has exhausted its resources and saturated the search area with all available assets and has determined to suspend searching pending further information."

Even as the island continued to suffer from the nonstop rain, state authorities said they would investigate what happened Tuesday at Kaloko Reservoir and urged reservoir owners to dismantle their dams.

Gov. Linda Lingle will submit a request to the Legislature today for emergency funding to cover the cost of recovery efforts as a result of storms over the past three weeks, according to a news release from the governor's office. Lingle will also request emergency funds to hire consultants to determine the structural integrity of dams and reservoirs statewide, as well as to assess potential immediate risks and to recommend long-term plans to ensure dam safety.

DRAINING MORITA DAM

State Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Robert G.F. Lee, head of state Civil Defense, said he wants the entire Morita Reservoir drained "because I believe we are expecting more rain over the weekend."

Kaua'i Mayor Bryan Baptiste said that after discussions with U.S. Corps of Engineers dam experts and others, he concluded that the Morita dam must ultimately be removed. The 21-foot-high earthen dam held back as much as 43 million gallons of water for 86 years, and would have survived longer if it had not been pounded Tuesday morning by an estimated 300 million gallons of water from Kaloko Reservoir.

For now, crews were successfully using pumps to drop the water level, reducing the threat of the eroded dam failing and causing a second flood. State Department of Transportation crews are awaiting word that Morita is empty before they can begin major work to repair damage to Kuhio Highway, the sole route to the north side of the island.

Only one lane of traffic can cross the damaged section of the highway at a time, and vehicles are being managed 24 hours a day by police.

The road will remain one lane for the next two to four months until repairs can be made, state Transportation Director Rod Haraga said.

"One of the things that we were concerned about is the stability of the slope on the down side," Haraga said. "It's about a 30-foot drop and we're going to have to buttress it, we're going to have to support it somehow. We're looking at ways to engineer that quickly."

But it isn't simply a matter of making a pile of dirt.

"It's a matter of designing it so that it will sustain forces later on," Haraga said.

Cost is not an issue because 100 percent of the project is eligible for federal highway funds, he said.

RESERVOIR INSPECTIONS

Engineers from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Corps of Engineers continued their inspections of both Morita Reservoir and what is left of Kaloko Reservoir.

But the land board sought a broader access for the inspections and yesterday, citing the threat of "imminent peril" to the public, it authorized the state attorney general to inspect dams and reservoirs on private property without permission.

"It's my belief and understanding that everyone in government will be seeking the permission of the private property owner to enter," said Peter Young, head of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources. "And we expect full cooperation and so far have been receiving full cooperation."

The land board also plans to ask dam and reservoir owners statewide for updated information on their inspection, operation and maintenance records, Young said.

It also will suggest that they consider tearing them down.

In the stream valley below Kuhio Highway, teams with dogs continued the search for victims.

Ed Simeona, a Honolulu Fire Department battalion chief and leader of the Urban Search and Rescue effort, said there were two rescue teams of 13 or 14 people, including Kaua'i and Honolulu fire department crews, paramedics and trained search dogs with their handlers. Dogs from both Kaua'i and O'ahu are participating.

"There are tree trunks, and from the homes that were destroyed, roofs, doors, planks, refrigerators, all types of debris," he said. Helicopters are being used to move crews to isolated areas, but some piles of debris contain logs too big for them to handle.

"We'll have to wait to get equipment in there" to help pull the piles apart, Simeona said.

Their grim work involved pulling apart piles of logs and debris, looking for evidence of the five people still listed as missing. Two bodies have been located — one Tuesday in the ocean a mile from shore and one Wednesday afternoon in streamside debris. Kaua'i County authorities have identified the man found Tuesday as Alan Dingwall, 30, of Kilauea. The body of a woman found Wednesday has not been identified.

MORE FLOODING

The missing were identified as Daniel Arroyo, Christina Macnees, Aurora Fehring, Rowan Fehring-Dingwall, Timothy Noonan and Wayne Rotstein.

The rescue teams are also checking inside automobiles found stuck in the debris or in the water. Some of the cars were empty during the flood, having been washed from parking spaces. No drivers have been reported missing, but it is possible vehicles were swept away while crossing Kuhio Highway when the flood hit at 5:30 a.m., he said.

Yesterday's emergency response included National Guard troops who supplemented police at the site of the Wailapa Stream flooding and assisted families seeking to evacuate flooded neighborhoods in Koloa. Shelters on the south and west sides of the island were opened for evacuees, while the Kilauea Neighborhood Center was converted from a Kaloko-Wailapa disaster shelter into a canteen to feed emergency workers.

Many residents said the volume of rain yesterday was not unprecedented, but it led to quick flooding coming atop a month of heavy rains. Near Alexander & Baldwin's Elua Reservoir in Kalaheo, company officials grew concerned first about the impact of heavy rains on the reservoir itself, and then about flooding ditches around the reservoir. The company assisted in relocating 13 families in the area on Wednesday and yesterday.

In Waimea, the county — with the help of the Red Cross — opened a shelter and suggested voluntary evacuation of residents in Waimea Valley, where many low-lying areas flooded. There were no reports of people taking advantage of the offer by late in the day.

Waimea Valley resident Margaret Ezekiel said that while low-lying streets and yards were under water, she was relieved that the Waimea River remained well below the concrete levees built for flood containment.

'IT'S BEEN WET ALL DAY'

Officials with Grove Farm, owners of the Waita Reservoir in Koloa, nervously watched yesterday as thousands of gallons of rainwater topped their spillway.

"There is 9 inches of water flowing over the spillway into Waikomo Stream," said Kathy Thompson, a Grove Farm spokeswoman. "We have been getting a lot of rain and it has risen fairly dramatically. On Wednesday it was one to two inches going over the spillway."

The reservoir appeared to be holding up under the pressure and no breaches were reported, she said.

The volume of water caused the stream to overflow, making Kapau Road impassable and cutting off access to three homes.

For the past few days, residents there had shuttled one another across the water with whoever had the biggest truck at the time. But yesterday, police rode in on a backhoe, prepared to help evacuate the residents.

"They said no," said lifelong Koloa resident Hartwell Blake. "They didn't think they were stranded."

Blake, who lives on Waikomo Road, said the rain has lasted longer than any in recent memory. At Koloa School yesterday, he watched it flood sidewalks. And behind his house, a normally dry riverbed gushed with water 3 feet deep.

"It's been wet all day long," he said. "It has been raining and then it will stop for a minute and just come down."

Civil Defense authorities said Wailani, Waila'au, Mission, Kapau, Aloha, and Knudsen roads were all closed because of the overflowing waters of Waikomo Stream. Floodwaters also closed traffic near Ho'one Road in Po'ipu, the Koloa Bypass and other roads in the area. Police evacuated Crazy Shirts and Koloa Natural Foods. National Guard troops with 5-ton trucks were on hand to assist motorists with flooded cars.

Other regions of concern: Auku'u Road in Kekaha and Hau'a'ala Road in Kapa'a are also closed because of flooding. The Anahola River was overflowing at sunset and threatened riverside residences. Highways crews were responding to landslides that closed portions of roads in several areas, including on Kaumuali'i Highway in Kalaheo at midday and Halfway Bridge in the afternoon.

District schools superintendent Daniel Hamada announced that Kekaha Elementary School would be closed today, but that all other Kaua'i public schools would be open.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com and Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com.