A Hawaii man survived an eight-hour ordeal in raging floodwaters after being swept away during Hurricane Lowell.
Trent Parke, 47, had taken steps to protect his home in Wainiha, a small Kauai community, in the days before Hurricane Lowell reached the area on September 7, SF Gate reported.
Parke told the outlet that he moved whatever he could to higher ground at his property, which sits alongside the seven-mile-long Wainiha River.
The local tattoo artist said he also took precautions after emergency officials issued an alert advising residents of oceanfront properties to voluntarily evacuate.
Though his home was not near the ocean, Parke moved his truck to higher ground, hurried to turn off his off-grid power system, changed into a wetsuit top and sealed valuables, including his phone and keys, inside a plastic bag.
When he returned to his truck at about 7.30pm, however, the river was already rapidly rising, Parke said.
‘I was walking on the far side of my property to get out, and it was just like about a 3-foot difference of water,’ Parke stated.
‘At that point, I had to swim back to my house because it was the only way to go.’
Trent Parke, 47, survived after floodwaters swept him away during Hurricane Lowell in Hawaii on September 7.
Clinging to plants to stay alive, Parke could only watch as the home he built was carried away by the surging water.
After making his way there, Parke climbed over the railing and onto his deck, which is around eight feet above the ground.
He hoped that the water would start to pull back, but it continued to rise.
Parke went on to climb onto the roof of his deck, which is around 16ft above the ground.
Large trees then started to float upstream, and pieces of his beloved home started to break away one by one.
‘I know at this point, I’m going to be diving in for a swim soon. I am not looking down at my art studio. Water just keeps rising faster and faster,’ Parke shared.
As mayhem quickly surrounded him, Parke found a hau bush plant and latched on. The thick tree grows horizontally and can reach up to 33ft tall.
But the trees were no match for Mother Nature after two of them slammed into the home and started to break, leaving Parke to jump back into the intense water.
‘When I hit the water, I knew I had to swim as hard as I could in any chance to hit that section of hau bush. In a blur, I was there and I got a hold of one of the thicker branches,’ he stated, adding that at that point, he was in his neighbor’s yard.
While trying to save himself, Parke said he watched as the house he built floated right past him.
Suddenly, the bush broke off, forcing him back into the raging river.
He prepared his Wainiha home days before the storm, trying to move what he could to higher ground
Eventually, he found his truck and his home, which was thrown some 30 to 50 yards downstream onto another property, Parke said
That caused him to hit his head and back on a log, and threw him underwater.
After resurfacing, he grabbed onto another branch and told himself he had to stay where he was in order to survive.
Parke remained there until 4am, fighting off hypothermia before running into four others who had escaped the water.
Eventually, he found his truck and his home, which was thrown some 30 to 50 yards downstream onto another property, Parke said.
Now, Parke is staying with neighbors and trying to figure out what is next after losing everything he had, according to a GoFundMe page.