WAILUKU >> As Gov. David Ige seeks a disaster declaration from President Barack Obama that would free up federal funding for recovery efforts in storm-damaged areas along the Wailuku River, more rain is expected to soak Maui this weekend.

“It won’t take much mauka rainfall for the river to cause problems again,” National Weather Service forecasters said Thursday. “However, the river gauge was washed away by the flooding and it is currently uncertain as to how much rain it would take for the stream to rise to the level that it would threaten lives and property.”

Forecasters said the flooding on the night of Sept. 13 and early morning of Sept. 14 changed the course of the river, formerly known as Iao Stream, which is now running close to homes.

During a news conferenceThursday afternoon in Wailuku, Ige said he will send the Obama administration a letter requesting the declaration needed to free up federal funding to supplement state and county cleanup and repair efforts.

“This truly is a sobering reminder of the power of nature and what happens every 500 years or so,” Ige said. The state and Maui County have already issued disaster declarations.

Earlier in the day, he surveyed damage during an aerial survey. “It’s truly phenomenal, the boulders and sediment that was moved around,” Ige said during the news conference. In some areas, he said, it appears that the riverbed has moved more than 100 feet. In other areas, narrow sections have become broad and wide open. Also, he said, the riverbed has been raised 8 to 10 feet higher in some places.

Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa said, “We can plan for hurricanes. We can plan for tsunamis. We look at all the different contingencies, but you can never be prepared for the kind of disaster we had last week.”

He added, “Out of no place all of a sudden the river rose, literally going from under 100 million gallons per day to 3 billion gallons per day.”

TWENTY FAMILIES were directly affected by the floodwater, officials said. Among the hardest hit was the Higa family residence.

“For us at this point, we lost everything we owned,” said Lisa Higa, who attended the news conference with her husband, Stephen, and their three children.

“What this has taught me is the most valuable thing I ever had was sitting right in front of me and it never cost me a penny,” she said. “We were lucky. We got clarity in life, and not a lot of people see that. So, we are lucky. We still have everything.”

During a county meeting held Thursday evening, officials urged about 70 residents to be patient. Residents contending with home and property damage are ineligible for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, officials said, because that emergency funding is tapped only when when at least 170 homes in a community are severely damaged by floodwater.

County officials said they are now working in tandem with nonprofit agencies in an attempt to identify assistance for affected residents.

After an initial assessment of the disaster area, conducted by the Hawaii National Guard and FEMA over the weekend, officials estimate that the storm caused $15 million in damage to Iao Valley State Monument and other public lands.

THIRTY MEMBERS of the National Guard cleaned up debris. During the news conference, Arakawa said the cleanup will involve moving an estimated 9,000 truckloads of debris out of Iao Valley.

The state monument is now closed indefinitely. Within the lower portion of the monument park, sections of two popular loop trails along the stream were washed away. Downstream, the storm’s flooding also significantly damaged Maui County’s Kepaniwai Park as well as a number of residences.

Weather forecasters said remnants of former Hurricane Orlene were about 200 miles north of Molokai on Thursday afternoon. Increased tropical moisture and shifting winds are expected to bring an increase in rain, especially over Hawaii island and Maui through Saturday.

The forecast for West Maui, including Wailuku, called for a 100 percent chance of rain Thursday night and a 50 to 70 percent chance of rain through Monday. Another weather system could move over the islands early next week, bringing more rain.

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Star-Advertiser staff writer Craig Gima contributed to this report.