I lived on Maui in 1989 and 1990 so in some ways it is like a 2nd home to me

 Mt. Shasta is another place like this that goes back much further in my life.

In 1974 my first wife had lived in Hilo, Hawaii (the Big Island) (which is different than Maui) but the two islands are next to each other in the Chain of the Hawaiian Islands. The Big Island of Hawaii is the furthest south and the furthest north is Kauai, which is called "The Garden Isle" because one part of Kauai gets more rain that anywhere else on earth in the southern Rainforest next to the Napili Coast to the north of Kauai. But, most of the time I have spent (since 1989) on Maui living there and on Kauai even though I have done Fly and drives to the Hilo Airport on the big Island to visit mostly Volcanoes National Park to see the active volcano there with relatives and friends over the years since 1989.

But, today there has already been a foot of Rain in Kula, Maui, Hawaii. Kula like Makawao and Pukalani are in the High Country on Maui which have a more moderate climate like say San Diego and Los Angeles without the smog and a lot more rain and moisture. People live up in places like Kula who don't like it so hot like it can get summers on the beaches especially on Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii. If you live near the beaches in summers if you aren't air conditioned somewhere or in the water somewhere it can get sort of difficult from the heat and humidity for most people, especially people from the Mainland like California where the heat is really dry and more survivable than the humid heat of Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii in the summers. But, especially on Maui and the big Island there is always the High Country where people can visit or live that is cooler than places like say Kona get in the summers.

To give you an example, I went to Kona in January to snorkel on the Big Island in 2015 with friends and the water (IN JANUARY) was 85 degrees every day there which is sort of mind blowing for most people who live where it snows then where they live.

But, the foot of rain and rain still coming until Tuesday or Wednesday is pretty terrifying for people living there because rain on Hawaii can be as big a problem as snow is other places. I myself almost died along with my family just driving from Kahului to Hana at night in a rainstorm. We almost didn't make it because our window van almost washed off a cliff into the sea. When the water and boulders were coming off the little cliffs next to us and trying to wash us into the sea I had everyone get up and jump up and down in the back because the rear wheels were floating and we were going to go over the cliff with the rear end of the van first. So, when everyone jumped up and down I was able to get the drive wheels to touch the pavement enough to save us while water washed across the front drivers compartment floor of our window van and rocks and debris hit the right side and wheels of our window van. We had learned our lesson. You NEVER drive the road to Hana in a bad storm if you want to live through it!

So, this is likely what people are dealing with now on Maui as you are reading this.