2026-09-10 · Hawaii · Compliance · Reported — unconfirmed

A South Maui condominium that lost four oceanfront units to a January 2025 Kona low lost an entire building to the next one, and its board is publicly blaming county permitting for the gap between the two. The allegations against the county are the association’s, reported and unadjudicated. The destruction is not in dispute.¹²

What happened

The AOAO of Kīhei Kai Oceanfront Condos sits at the junction of North and South Kīhei roads and dates from 1970. It flooded in 2021 and 2023. The January 2025 Kona low damaged four oceanfront units. The March 13–16, 2026 Kona low destroyed the oceanfront building outright; emergency inspectors arrived Monday, March 16, and the county began compiling damage estimates toward a federal disaster declaration.¹

The association reports spending roughly $1 million on 2025 emergency repairs, about 75 per cent of it insured. A replacement six-storey building has been estimated at roughly $40 million. Owners are split between demolition-and-settlement and repairing the surviving building.

One factual caveat. The two outlets covering the collapse do not agree on the association’s size — one describes a 32-unit association with a 16-unit destroyed building, the other a 25-unit structure. We report the discrepancy rather than pick a number.

What the association alleges

Three claims, all contested and none tested in court: that county permit delays pushed shoreline repair past the second storm; that the county failed to enforce against a neighbouring property’s unpermitted walls; and that a county bridge rebuilt in 2016 over Waiakoa Gulch channels floodwater into the property.

1. Maui Now, “Maui oceanfront condo damaged by 2025 flood did not survive 2026 storm,” April 5, 2026 ↩
2. Hawaii News Now, “‘Unprecedented’ flooding triggers condo collapse in Kihei,” March 17, 2026 ↩
3. HRS § 514B-47, Removal from provisions of this chapter ↩