House and Senate lawmakers agreed Wednesday to set aside $100 million to help finance the Kauai flood recovery effort and $25 million to speed the Oahu recovery, money that can be quickly used while local authorities are waiting for federal funding.
An emotional Kauai Mayor Bernard Carvalho told reporters at the state Capitol he was “a bit overwhelmed” by the quick appropriation by lawmakers “because I was there from Day 1, and saw a lot of the people are having a hard time.”
The appropriation could be approved by the House and Senate and signed into law by Gov. David Ige as soon as lawmakers complete their work on the state budget, which could be as early as this week.
“Our people are isolated on a part of our island, so it’s very difficult to assure that we can assemble the team and provide the resources,” Carvalho said at a Wednesday news conference, his voice cracking with emotion.
“This funding is going to
be available immediately to
assure that the kids can get to school, to assure that kupuna can get their medical supplies and what they need, and to assure that we can service not just (the north shore) of the island but the whole island,” he said. “Other parts of the island have been devastated as well.”
The money from the appropriation in Senate Bill 192 would be used for repairs to public facilities including roads, bridges, county parks and other infrastructure damaged in the severe flooding over the weekend on Kauai, and would be routed through the state Department of Defense.
Ige also announced Wednesday he has made $500,000 available immediately to finance staffing for emergency response activities, and “we do anticipate that will
be consumed relatively quickly.” Another $10 million in transportation funding is to be used to help clear and repair roadways.
State Rep. Nadine Nakamura, (D, Hanalei-Princeville-Kapaa), said preliminary estimates put the damage to state highways alone at $20 million to $25 million, and that does not include extensive damage to county roads in Hanalei and other areas.
No other specific damage
estimates were available, but
Nakamura cited extensive flooding damage to parks, public restrooms, schools and other
facilities.
Ige told reporters he will expand the state disaster declaration to Oahu, noting that the initial declaration was limited to Kauai. The state has dispatched four helicopters and more than 45 Hawaii National Guard members to help on Kauai.
Federal Emergency Management Agency crews are on the
island to begin assessing the damage, which must be done before Kauai can qualify for federal disaster aid, and state and county crews are working to clear roads, he said.
“We have been in contact with the White House, so we are keeping them informed of the damages so that they can be prepared when we are ready to request a federal disaster declaration,” Ige said.
A spokeswoman for the governor’s office said Kauai would qualify for a federal disaster declaration if FEMA determines it suffered more than $250,000 in damage, and Honolulu would qualify if it suffered more than $3.5 million in damage. Federal declarations would allow qualification for federal disaster assistance.
“We’re pretty confident that we’ll meet the threshold, but we do need to have the federal assessors here, and we are jointly going to all of the most damaged areas so we can get that assessment done,” Ige said.
