Red Cross continues assessments on Oahu and Kauai; more than 180 homes affected

Volunteers from the American Red Cross of Hawaii continue to respond to last weekend’s flood disaster on Kauai and Oahu.

Today, teams of Red Cross volunteers and Kauai County employees went door to door in the neighborhoods of Wailua, Keapana, Anahola, Moloaa, Wainiha and Haena in search of properties impacted by the storm, after doing the same in Koloa on Thursday.

One additional Oahu Red Cross volunteer deployed to Kauai, joining four others who left on Monday to help with casework, shelter, health services and government relations.

All Red Cross shelters on Kauai are now closed, but remain on standby, and will reopen if necessary.

On Oahu, volunteers are providing affected residents with clean-up kits, information about returning home after a flood, cleaning up mold and mildew, and offering referrals to other community organizations. Caseworkers are following up with those most affected.

As of today, the Red Cross damage assessment teams on Oahu have found four homes destroyed (defined as homes with 36 inches or more of water having entered essential living space) in Kuliouou and Aina Haina, 48 with major damage (18 inches or more of of water in essential living space), 121 with minor damage (up to 18 inches), and 15 homes that had water enter. Most of the homes with major damage are in the Niu Valley area, while the rest are in Waimanalo, Kailua/Lanikai and Hawaii Kai.

Volunteers from Red Cross will also be at the Disaster Recovery Centers on Oahu from Monday to Thursday next week.