Farm animals still missing after storm batters Waimanalo
By Kristen Consillio
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WAIMANALO, Hawaii (KITV) — Claude Colton proudly displays the farm animals he raises like family — at parties, fairs and every year at annual festivals in Waimanalo.
But within hours, Colton Farms was wiped out — fences, cages and the feed station all gone.
“The water in certain areas honestly was up to my neck. I had to swim to open up gates, checking on animals,” he said. “Battling the animals trying to get them to safety, the wind and debris flying in the air and swimming at the same time.”
At least 500 animals at Colton Farms ran off during the height of the storm over the weekend, and many of them are still missing.
“I mean when you see animals literally like looking at you, “help me,” you know, upside down and everything like that and you’re rushing in the water, thick mud, it’s hard to get to them,” Colton said.
As the water recedes he’s finding more casualties: cows, sheep, goats and pigs that drowned in the flood waters.
“When I really seen the destruction, I said I think it’s over so I was kind of hurt,” he said.
But amid the destruction, “animals are still coming back as we speak,” he added. “I honestly thought they were dead out there, but it was kind of fun, like when they reunite with each other, they’re crying, they’re making all their noises and dancing and then become a herd.”
The sounds of his animals returning from the hillside and forest giving him a glimmer of hope. And neighbors helping to build makeshift pens and donating feed for the animals, showing that aloha lives.
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