FEMA boss tours Kauai as cleanup efforts continue

Kauai was visited by a Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Friday — and thankfully not the heavy rain that was forecast — as immense recovery efforts continue for much of the island’s north shore after devastating floods that hit Sunday.

Robert Fenton, a regional FEMA administrator based in California, got a firsthand view of damage by air and land with Gov. David Ige and other local officials.

Ige, who also went to Kauai on Monday, said he appreciated the visit from Fenton, who attended a morning briefing in Kauai’s Emergency Operations Center where relief planning originates, then surveyed the landscape by helicopter and finally saw three sites on the ground including landslides covering the only road access to Wainiha and Haena communities.

“There’s still lots of damage,” Ige said, adding, “I saw tremendous progress.”

FEMA has had a small team on Kauai helping state and county officials coordinate relief. But the agency’s big resources, including financial assistance for private property owners and potentially reimbursing state and county government for 75 percent of public infrastructure work, can’t be deployed until after damage assessments come in.

Those assessments are being led by the Hawaii Chapter of the American Red Cross, which only Thursday was able to access Wainiha and Haena areas cut off by massive landslides that buried sections of Kuhio Highway, which dead-ends at Haena State Park.

Coralie Chun Matayoshi, Hawaii Red Cross CEO, said agency workers have yet to tally any Kauai damage assessments, which require looking inside homes.

“We’ve been really hampered with road closures,” she said.

To qualify for FEMA aid, more than $250,000 in damage needs to be documented on Kauai. On Oahu, where flooding hit mainly East Honolulu and Waimanalo on Friday, the damage threshold is $3.5 million.

The Red Cross on Oahu so far has categorized four homes as destroyed and 48 with major damage defined by at least 18 inches of water in an essential living space. Another 121 homes had less than 18 inches of water in the home.

To help affected Oahu residents with services and information, a recovery center will open at Waimanalo District Park on Monday and Wednesday, and at Koko Head District Park Tuesday and Thursday, from noon to 8 p.m.

On Kauai, relief efforts have included evacuating and sheltering people, clearing roads and delivering food and water.

The last of five Red Cross shelters closed late Thursday or early Friday, though the facility at Kilauea Gym can be reopened if needed.

Evacuating stranded Kauai residents and visitors from flood-stricken homes, hiking trails and other places by helicopter began Monday and carried about 450 people through Thursday, according to the Kauai Emergency Management Agency. The agency said nonemergency evacuations are scheduled to cease today.

Evacuations also have been carried out by volunteers with watercraft.

One person was arrested Thursday for allegedly demanding $200 each from a small group he picked up Sunday from Tunnels Beach near Haena Point. Police said the person threatened to drop the evacuees in the ocean if they did not pay.

To help people still stranded, a medical team led by Hawaii Healthcare Emergency Management was deployed Friday to Hanalei Colony Resort in Haena to provide basic medical care in surrounding communities.

These communities are expected to be cut off possibly for another week or so. The state Department of Transportation on Friday estimated that it can open one Kuhio Highway lane on or before May 7, as over a dozen landslides from Waikoko to Wainiha need to be cleared. Two sites need slope stabilization work using soil nails and a blanket of concrete spray or steel netting, DOT said.

Additionally, DOT plans to install temporary modular steel bridges at Waioli, Waipa and Waikoko streams to allow heavier use, up to 25 tons compared with 8 tons for existing bridges.

The state Department of Education announced Friday that Hanalei Elementary School will reopen Monday.

Kauai officials announced Friday that they will close two temporary sites to receive donated goods because of abundant giving. The sites were at Princeville Airport and Koloa Neighborhood Center. Anyone who still wishes to donate items can call Kauai Emergency Management at 241-1800.

“We have an outstanding Kauai community that has quickly provided a vast amount of food, clothing and other necessities for the flood victims on our island,” Elton Ushio, the agency’s administrator, said in a statement. “We appreciate and thank everyone who contributed to our relief efforts, and we encourage those who still wish to help to consider providing a monetary donation to assist at this time.”