One week after Hurricane Lane began pounding Hawaii island, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen said today that the federal government will continue to respond to the devastation in the wake of the storm.

“Our initial response is just the beginning. We remain here and will be here,” Nielsen declared at a news conference at Hawaii Emergency Management Agency’s Joint Information Center.

Nielsen, Gov. David Ige and FEMA Administrator Brock Long met with reporters after Nielsen was briefed about ongoing recovery efforts following Hurricane Lane. She was also briefed on the Kilauea eruption and the record-breaking April flooding.

Unlike the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, who on Wednesday continued to criticize President Donald Trump and his administration’s response to last year’s Hurricane Maria, Ige was effusive in his praise for FEMA and the administration.

“I’ve never seen so many FEMA personnel in the state, in each and every county, to provide expertise, support, advice, allowing us to have access to resources, both knowledge as well as personnel (and) resources that we would not have had access to without their support,” Ige said

“They’ve executed their mission tirelessly and with great compassion for the people of Hawaii. We are eternally grateful,” the governor said.

Nielsen said more than 3,900 FEMA and other federal workers were deployed or supporting Hawaii prior to Lane’s arrival.

Among those deployed by FEMA were three urban search and rescue support teams, two incident management assistance teams and mobile emergency response support personnel and equipment, she said.

Long told reporters that FEMA equipment and emergency resources will remain in Hawaii for at least a few more months.

“We’ve put a lot on the island as a result of Lane that we’re not going to take off,” he said. “We’re going to leave it here, because you’re in the heart of the hurricane season.”