An elderly couple in Hawaii has lost their dream home after it was swept into a river during a powerful storm. Tom and Carrie Bashaw, both in their eighties, spent their life savings on the Maui property, which was destroyed less than six years after it was built.
The couple began building their home in Wailuku, Maui, in 2020. The house sat on a hill overlooking Iao Stream, which is usually dry or has low water levels. They believed the home was safe because it was 75 feet away from the stream and 45 feet above it.
However, on Saturday morning, the stream swelled into a raging river after a Kona storm dumped 44 inches of water on Maui. The floodwaters eroded the foundation, causing the house to collapse and be swept away. The couple fled around 9pm on Friday and slept in a barn with their cats.
When they returned on Saturday, the entire back of the house was gone. Later that day, the garage was also swept away. The couple did not have flood insurance because the house was not in a designated flood zone.
Tom Bashaw said they were never worried because they had seen the stream swell before, but nothing like this. They are now salvaging what little remains.
