The state will conduct inspections of roofs at schools, designated disaster shelters and other state facilities following Friday’s roof collapse at the Farrington High School auditorium.
The cause remains under investigation.
Officials said the roof at Farrington had had no reports of major problems.
Meanwhile, officials had no estimate for how much it would cost to make repairs to the building — described as the centerpiece of Farrington’s campus — and it remained unclear whether it could even be salvaged.
But Gov. Neil Abercrombie told reporters Monday the cleanup would be an "enormous undertaking," and said the collapse would have surely been fatal had anyone been in the path of the debris.
He also said that given the questions that remain about why a 40-foot section of the auditorium roof collapsed, the state would expedite inspections of roofs that are aging, due for replacement or in need of repairs.
"We do not want to take chances," he said. "That’s what the inspections will emphasize. Are there possible health and safety factors that need to be addressed?"
The auditorium’s roof came down at about 3:20 p.m. during a short but heavy rainstorm, and just hours before 100 to 200 people were scheduled to gather there for a slam poetry contest.
Only one person was in the building at the time, and he was not injured. There were few students on campus because it was a school holiday.
It remained unclear whether the rain was a factor in the collapse, schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi said.
But she said that there were no indications before the incident that there were any problems with the roof.
The National Weather Service said a rain gauge in the vicinity of Farrington High showed that 1.8 inches of rain fell in an hour at about the time the roof collapsed.
"Any time you get greater than an inch, it’s pretty significant," said Mike Cantin, the agency’s warning coordination meteorologist. But Cantin also characterized the rainfall as what would be expected in an "average heavy rainstorm."
No other structures in the area were reported damaged in the storm.
DOE engineers began their investigation Monday into why the roof came down, and were also on the scene to ensure that the building itself was not in danger of collapse.
Abercrombie toured the auditorium over the weekend and said in a news conference Monday that seeing the collapse firsthand, "It really struck me … how fortunate we were that no one was in that auditorium. There is no doubt in my mind that anyone beneath that terrible wreckage would have been killed instantly."
The 1,100-seat auditorium is 58 years old, the roof was replaced in 1985 and minor repairs were made in 1992, according to DOE spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz. It was unclear whether strutural supports were replaced at those times.
The roof has had several inspections since 2005, but they were not comprehensive.
The auditorium roof was due for a "detailed" inspection sometime in the next two years, Dela Cruz said.
Farrington High Principal Al Carganilla said other than some minor leaks, his staff had seen no problems with the auditorium’s roof.
The collapse comes about a year into a decade-long, $100 million modernization project to bring Farrington High into the 21st century. The work is aimed at addressing more than $40 million in backlogged repairs and improving facilities to meet the demands of modern students.
The project did not include, however, any updates to the auditorium.
In fact, the auditorium was one of only two buildings on the Farrington campus — the other being the library — that were deemed in 2010 by a DOE consultant to be in "good condition" and not in need of major upgrades.
The consultant rated building conditions based on superficial needs rather than building integrity, though.
A database of backlogged repairs at Farrington High includes the re-roofing of the auditorium, at a cost of $330,000.
But the DOE said the re-roofing project’s listing in the database did not necessarily mean the roof was overdue for replacement. The next step in maintaining the roof, officials said, was an in-depth inspection, which would have been scheduled for 2013 or 2014.
While officials did not know the cause of the roof collapse, several said the incident is likely a symptom of an aging infrastructure.
More than half of public schools in the islands were built more than 50 years ago.
The DOE has been working over the past decade to decrease its backlogged-repairs total, but the number is still sizable: The price tag for overdue repairs at schools statewide now stands at about $266 million. In 2003 the total topped $703 million.
Matayoshi said the roof inspection work will dovetail with a comprehensive review of school facilities.
The review, which the department announced earlier this year, is aimed at getting a better handle on the state of Hawaii’s schools and where the greatest needs are.
Farrington’s auditorium is heavily used by students along with community groups and neighboring schools, and for large functions.
New Hope Oahu used the auditorium for church services and, over the years, has invested about $1 million into repairs and upgrades, said John Tilton, executive pastor.
Earlier this year, the church restored and refurbished the auditorium’s seats at a cost of $100,000.
Carganilla said drama classes frequently had practices there, and there were weekly gatherings of all students in a particular grade level so that announcements could be made or reminders given.
He said doing without the space will be a hardship.
But, he added, people aren’t worrying about that yet. They’re still pretty shocked —and thankful no one was hurt, he said.
"We’re fortunate that it happened when it did."
Students at the campus, which has an enrollment of 2,450, expressed similar sentiments Monday.
"It could have been a catastrophe," said junior Jimmy Olivas, 16, as he stood outside the auditorium with friends.
Lester Lombawa, 15, nodded his head. He had been scheduled to perform at the slam poetry contest Friday evening.
