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A helicopter was sent to airlift stranded residents from fast-rising floodwaters on Maui Tuesday as a morning deluge rushed over major roadways, trapping vehicles in 4 feet of brown water in some areas.

Another three people were rescued by firefighters on foot on South Kihei Road.

County officials said there were no reported injuries from the storm, the worst of which was over by mid-morning.

The heavy rainfall led to a slew of Kihei road closures, including several stretches of South Kihei Road, where the rescues occurred, and Kaonoulu Street. Piilani Highway from Mile Marker 19 to 21 in Kaupo also shut down to traffic.

Floodwaters also shuttered a number of county parks: Kalepolepo Beach Park in Kihei, Kanaha at Ka’a Point in Kahului and Hana Ball Park in Hana.

The rain storm arrived on the heels of another major soak this past Tuesday that dropped 2 to 6 inches across most of the Valley Isle. Although destructive, the wet weather has helped make a modest dent in the island’s drought, which is expected to persist through the end of March.

Among the main Hawaiian Islands, Maui is suffering the most widespread and severe drought. Kauai and Lanai are free of drought or abnormally dry areas, according to the most recent report from the U.S. Drought Monitor. Oahu and Molokai have tiny patches considered abnormally dry. Only Maui and the Big Island contain large areas that are abnormally dry or in moderate drought, and Maui is the sole island experiencing severe drought.

For the state as a whole, the drought picture has improved dramatically in the past three months. In early October, all of Hawaii was either abnormally dry or in some level of drought. Now, only about half the state is in those categories.

Weather experts say it will take repeat rain events to bring Maui out of persistent drought.

Civil Beat’s coverage of Maui County is supported in part by grants from the Nuestro Futuro Foundation.