Zuckerberg buys more Hawaii land, including deadly dam site
HONOLULU (AP) — Billionaire Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has purchased more property in Hawaii, including most of a reservoir that unleashed a deadly flood 15 years ago.
Property records show Zuckerberg’s Kaloko LLC bought a 110-acre (44.5-hectare) site on Kauai last month for $17 million from a company owned by the Pflueger family.
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The purchase includes most of a reservoir that flooded in 2006, killing seven people, after a section of a dam burst following 40 days of near-constant rain. James Pflueger was held responsible for the tragedy for his management of the dam.
Pflueger was sentenced by a state judge to seven months in jail in 2014 and was released in 2015.
He died in 2017 at the age of 91.
Zucerkberg and wife Priscilla Chang are committed to doing their part of fulfilling legal requirements and promoting safety of the reservoir, said Ben LaBolt, a spokesman for the couple.
The reservoir remains unrepaired and on the state’s list of high-risk dams.
The couple plan to extend farming, ranching, conservation and wildlife protection work on the land, LaBolt said.
They already had 1,300 acres (526 hectares) on the island.
