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Kauai woman washed away during flash flood found with head injury

A 49-year-old Wainiha woman was discovered safe Sunday after she was swept out to sea early Sunday morning during a flash flood in Wainiha, Kauai County officials said.

The unidentified woman and a man and child used a boat to evacuate their home along the Wainiha River when the boat flipped over in the rapid waters, officials said. The man and child were able to get to safety, but the woman became distressed in the fast moving waters and was swept away.

Neighbors downstream heard the woman’s cries for help and called first responders around 12:40 a.m. Responders followed the woman’s cries and found her along a shoreline located below a cliff. Hanalei firefighters climbed down the cliff and assisted her out to awaiting paramedics.

The woman suffered non-life threatening injuries to her head. She was taken to Wilcox Hospital.

The island was under a flash flood warning from 10 p.m. Saturday to 12:30 p.m. today. A flash flood watch remains in effect through Monday afternoon.

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