Hurricane Lane Caused 20M Damage

Damage to county facilities from the flooding late last month caused by torrential downpours from Hurricane Lane totaled about $20 million, said Managing Director Wil Okabe on Thursday.

Okabe said the damage estimate is for county infrastructure and doesn’t include damage to state infrastructure, such as schools and highways.

Gov. David Ige on Sept. 6 asked President Donald Trump to declare a major disaster for Hawaii as a result of the impacts from Lane, which wreaked havoc statewide from Aug. 22-29.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse the state and county 75 percent for damage to public infrastructure from a declared disaster.

“The magnitude and severity of the disaster requires federal assistance,” Ige said in a statement announcing his request. “This exceeds the state’s response capability, and it has impacted local governments.”

In addition to aid for disaster recovery, the governor also asked for 100 percent federal funding for the first 72 hours of Lane’s impacts.

“We’re doing our best to try to mitigate the situation, to try to work with the state and the federal government to try to get them to document (damage) as quickly as possible, so we can get some type of relief for people who are affected … to try to expedite the situation as quickly as possible,” Okabe said.

Okabe said assessments documented 152 homes damaged, with 29 sustaining major damage. None were destroyed.

An estimated 30 businesses also reported damage from Lane’s flooding, Okabe said.