LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Tension remained high on rain-battered Kaua'i yesterday as emergency crews scrambled to prevent a second devastating dam break, watched a third reservoir and warned residents about flooding and mudslides in Waimea Valley.

With more rain predicted through tomorrow, local and state officials aren't sure what to expect next on the Garden Isle.

"We still have a risk from Kaloko," said Ed Teixeira, vice director of state Civil Defense, talking about the dam that burst Tuesday. "I don't think this is over yet — not with the forecast of rains."

Kaua'i Mayor Bryan Baptiste said Hawai'i Air and Army National Guard troops are stationed around the clock at both Kaloko and Morita reservoirs to watch for signs of collapse.

The day ended with a mixture of some relief and sadness: Transportation officials were pleased with the partial and likely temporary reopening of Kuhio Highway on Kaua'i's North Shore. But canine search teams found the body of a second victim — an unidentified woman — amid debris in a Kilauea streambed.

Seven people were believed killed Tuesday morning when the 400-million-gallon Kaloko Reservoir dam collapsed, launching an immense surge of water that tore out hundreds of mature trees and carried the victims with it.

The body of a man believed to be about 30 years old was found Tuesday in the ocean.

Civil Defense officials yesterday focused on preventing a devastating breach at a second reservoir, the old Kilauea Sugar Co.'s Morita Reservoir. Floodwaters from Kaloko so compromised Morita below it that officials said it can no longer safely hold.

Crews used a controlled breaching procedure to reduce its water levels over more than 24 hours so other crews could search for flood victims and safely work on the undermined Kuhio Highway. Late yesterday afternoon, traffic resumed between Kaua'i's North Shore and the rest of the island, restoring limited access in an area cut off since Tuesday morning.

Earlier in the day, the threat of heavy flooding and mudslides on the opposite end of the Garden Isle in Waimea Valley prompted officials to issue a voluntary evacuation order. And the Waita Reservoir above Koloa Town was full and gushing water over its spillway, but did not appear to be in any danger of failing.

Coast Guard boats and aircraft continued searching the waters off Kilauea for a second day, while search teams with dogs clambered over logjams and fields of debris.

John Moreland knows it will take time to get out of his search-and-rescue mode after his Coast Guard crew discovered the man's body one mile offshore of Kilauea Bay.

"It won't hit anybody for a few days," said Moreland, a 34-year-old boatswain's mate first class who served as the executive petty officer of the 31-foot Coast Guard utility boat that searched the debris-filled water. "Our minds haven't relaxed. I know mine hasn't. We're not going to give up until there's no hope or until somebody says, 'It's enough.'"

LOTS OF DEBRIS

The utility boat left Nawiliwili Harbor in Lihu'e to start the search. Even as far as six miles away from Kilauea Bay, the crew came upon massive amounts of debris that forced them to run as far as 3 1/2 miles offshore to avoid collisions.

The crew tried to set up a search pattern around Kilauea Bay but an entire two-mile stretch "was filled as tight as it could be filled with large trees, huge piles of bamboo, grass, drums, buckets, a bed liner to a truck, large pieces of wood and timber that came from houses, parts of vehicles, the undercarriage of a vehicle," Moreland said. "We were taken aback by how much debris we saw. We just went from debris to debris, searching every clump we could see."

After searching for half an hour, crew members found the body. About two hours later, they were told the cause of the disaster was a broken reservoir.

Two homes and several other structures were also swept away and Kuhio Highway was so badly damaged that it remained closed for some 36 hours.

"It was like a tsunami," said Michael Perius, who lives along the Morita Reservoir, a mile and a half downstream from Kaloko.

Anyone who wants to use Morita Reservoir again will need to rebuild the reservoir dam essentially from the ground up, said Ray Kong, a geotechnical engineer with the U.S. Corps of Engineers. Kong was part of a team of state and federal experts who inspected the dam.

But some residents don't want to see it rebuilt.

"There is no possibility in God's green earth that this reservoir should remain here," Perius said. "Get rid of it. I never want any of my friends' kids to get killed because of it."

CONTROLLED BREACH

Teixeira said Gov. Linda Lingle's emergency declaration gave him permission to order the breaching of any dam that threatened downstream interests. But in this case, property owners launched a controlled breach Tuesday afternoon. The lowering of Morita's water level continued through the night, both with pumps and through the expansion of the spillway. By yesterday it was at roughly half its normal level, but officials remained concerned.

"The reservoir dam is one-quarter to one-fifth of its original width at the top," Kong said. The once-sloping downstream side of the dam wall had eroded to a collapsing vertical face. The fact that it survived is an indication its designers and builders did their job well, he said.

While water levels were at threatening levels, "obviously we could not touch the highways or let the rescuers work freely downstream," Teixeira said.

The reduction in water levels and superficial repairs to the pavement allowed the reopening of Kuhio Highway to a single lane of traffic at 4:20 p.m. yesterday, easing an isolation crisis for hundreds of tourists and 6,500 or more residents who live beyond Wailapa Stream. Teixeira warned that the road might close again.

"There is still some concern about the structural integrity of the highway," he said. "We have to continue to carefully monitor the amount of water in Morita and what Morita is going to do."

Residents reported a panicky atmosphere in the North Shore community — akin to a hurricane alert or threat of a shipping strike.

"I went to Foodland and the aisles were filled, but the shelves were being emptied," said Wainiha resident Barbara Robeson. "There were no shopping carts to be had."

The Princeville Chevron station ran out of gas by noon yesterday.

"I heard it was a madhouse" at stores, said Hanalei Surf Co. owner Charlie Cowden. "I think it was people panicking. You wonder how people would react in a real disaster."

Many businesses closed because employees from the other side of the flood could not get to work. But Cowden said some visitors on the North Shore seemed to take it in stride.

"There's people down at the beach," Cowden said. "It's kind of a nice day."

Fire Department crews were arranging emergency helicopter transport from the North Shore for medical emergency cases, including people who needed dialysis.

Helicopter companies staged at Princeville Airport to fly visitors to Lihu'e Airport so they could catch Mainland flights. The Princeville Hotel chartered two twin-engine fixed-wing aircraft to fly some of its guests to Lihu'e Airport, said Jay Furfaro, general manager of the Princeville and Hanalei resort operation, and a member of the Kaua'i County Council.

MORE WORRIES

Officials arranged it so that the first vehicles to cross to the north when the highway reopened were container trucks with food and a gasoline tanker.

Teixeira said the situation was briefly reminiscent of the situation statewide after the 9/11 attacks, when air traffic to the Islands was shut down.

"The needs build up quickly, and the longer transportation is out, the faster they build up," he said.

The heavy rains caused concerns in other parts of the island as well. Civil Defense officials worried yesterday that the immense Waita Reservoir above Koloa and the Po'ipu resort community could fail. It was full and flowing hard over its spillway. Waita, with a 2 billion-gallon capacity, has the second-largest volume of any freshwater body in the state, after O'ahu's Lake Wilson.

Kaua'i Civil Defense coordinator Mark Marshall said that water was being diverted as much as possible Tuesday. The diversion was added to Waikomo Stream, which added to problems there. Waikomo was already flooding and requiring some evacuations in Koloa Town.

A state Department of Land and Natural Resources dam safety crew inspected Waita and determined that the dam was not in danger of failure. By yesterday, Waikomo flooding was down, and a dam operator continued to control flows in and out of Waita.

Baptiste said that state dam assessment crews also inspected the island's other dams that might be at risk, and found them apparently safe.

'I'M NOT WORRIED'

Heavy rain at Waimea prompted county officials to suggest Waimea Valley residents voluntarily evacuate under the threat of flooding or mudslides. The Waimea Neighborhood Center was opened for evacuees, but as of sundown, none had arrived.

Like several other Waimea Valley residents, Patty Kuzen and her husband, Mark Bowles, had no plans to leave.

"Somebody said there had been some kind of notice to evacuate," Kuzen said. "It's not raining. I'm not worried because that was a dam breaking. This would be a flooding situation. It's not the same kind of emergency."

Sheila Ueno, however, packed a bag and was ready to move in with her son who lives on higher ground on Kaua'i.

Ueno woke up yesterday morning to find her backyard under 2 feet of water. By yesterday afternoon, the water had receded to the point that "little grass blades are starting to show through," she said.

"I guess I'll have to leave if it does start getting crazy, and really, really starts pouring," Ueno said.

Two winters ago, her Waimea Valley neighborhood flooded so badly that water seeped into Ueno's garage and neighbors used row boats to get around.

Officials said the response to this week's disaster is still in its early stages, and serious issues such as how it happened, and how to repair much of the damage, are a long time off.

"Right now, we need to concentrate on the immediate crisis," Mayor Baptiste said.

State Rep. Hermina Morita, who represents the North Shore of the island, agreed, and said her office is trying to ensure that rescue and repair crews have the resources they need. But she said the cause of the flood must be fully reviewed.

"After we know that our people are cared for," Morita said, "it's important that we fully reconstruct the events leading to this disaster."

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com and Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.