An elderly couple faced a heartbreaking loss when their dream home in Hawaii was swept away by a catastrophic flood.
Tom and Carrie Bashaw, both 80, were taken by surprise as Storm Kona unleashed more than 20 inches of rain on Maui within just five days.
The storm battered the Iao River, eroding the foundations of homes in Happy Valley, as reported by local news sources.
The couple, who believed their house—75 feet from the river and elevated 45 feet above it—was safe, found themselves blindsided by the flooding.
To make matters worse, they didn’t have flood insurance; their home wasn’t categorized as being in a flood zone.
“I never thought the whole house would just vanish,” Carrie shared. “Everything is gone.”
Less than six years after it was built, the flood devastated their residence, damaging both the living room and bedroom.
Tom mentioned that the floodwaters had engulfed “the entire back half of the house.”
As the storm approached, Tom and Carrie closely monitored the weather, and when they lost some trees, they devised an escape plan. They spent the night in a barn before assessing the damage the following morning.
While inspecting their property, Tom heard a cracking sound just before the garage gave way.
“I took out my phone to record it, and then, boom, it fell into the water,” he recalled.
Currently, Tom and Carrie are sleeping on air mattresses in a storage container with their two cats, Sheba and Ty.
“Though they are deeply saddened by the abrupt loss, they are trying their best to navigate this incredibly tough period with the help of kind neighbors and the local community,” Carey’s daughter, Stephanie Ichinose, mentioned.
Over $60,000 has been raised for the couple, thanks to a crowdfunding effort organized by Stephanie.
The heaviest rainfall was recorded on Maui, with some areas experiencing as much as 46 inches between March 10 and 15, according to the National Weather Service.
