Big Island families face water crisis nearly two weeks after earthquake

News admin June 5, 2026 0 Comments

Big Island families face water crisis nearly two weeks after earthquake

SOUTH KONA, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) — Families are still without water nearly two weeks after a 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck the Big Island.

When the 6.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the South Kona area of Hawaii Island nearly two weeks ago, many had their fresh water cut off completely when many water catchment systems suffered catastrophic blowouts.

“One of the biggest ones I’ve seen was 25 to 30,000 gallons let go instantly and created literally an Amazonian river,” said Corey Yeaton, owner of Pacific Blue Catchment.

Repair costs reach tens of thousands

That’s what happened at one home where the driveway sank and cracked. Yeaton said this tank system could cost upwards of $40,000 to replace.

A rusty tank also suffered a blowout. The brittle liner couldn’t withstand the shearing force of the quake, forcing 20,000 gallons of water underground.

He’s been seeing up to 15 homes per day and more are waiting for help.

“I think we have over 150 calls. We have literally like 80 people in our queue waiting for liners or tanks to be replaced,” Yeaton said.

Hawaii County Mayor Kimo Alameda and Hawaii County Civil Defense said there have been 463 damage reports filed so far. Out of 101 homes visited, 18 were destroyed and 60 had major damage.

“This 6.0 earthquake did a number on our people, especially on the south side,” Alameda said.

“Already we’ve provided over 4,000 gallons of portable water, a water tanker to Miloli’i because that’s where the water has been requested the most, and also we’ve opened some spigots for folks to go to extra spigots. We’ve expanded the hours and that’s just for portable water,” Alameda said.

The work could take months. Yeaton suggests investing in newer stronger materials and said he’s been amazed by people’s spirit of rebuilding together after disaster.

Alameda said he’s also worried about farmers who need water, so the county is working to make sure they apply for federal assistance. He also said the county may not reach the threshold for federal disaster assistance so it’s working with the state on the possible need for state disaster relief funds.