FEMA approves over $330M for housing relief on Maui

ANDY VLIET / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Maui hotel workers who lost their homes in the Maui fires held a march and sign-waving session Dec. 20 in Kaanapali, Maui.

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ANDY VLIET / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER

Maui hotel workers who lost their homes in the Maui fires held a march and sign-waving session Dec. 20 in Kaanapali, Maui.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM / AUG. 18
Lamesha Terrell, a FEMA support specialist, listens to the concerns of an applicant affected by the Lahaina wildfire at the Maui campus of the University of Hawaii.

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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM / AUG. 18

Lamesha Terrell, a FEMA support specialist, listens to the concerns of an applicant affected by the Lahaina wildfire at the Maui campus of the University of Hawaii.

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The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration have approved over $330.8 million in federal relief aid for 6,925 households since the Aug. 8 wildfires on Maui, FEMA announced Friday in a news release.

Over $41 million in FEMA assistance has been approved — $20,699,326 for housing assistance and $20,457,536 for other needs assistance. Almost $290 million in SBA disaster loans was approved for Maui homeowners, renters and businesses — over $101.3 million for businesses and over $188.4 million for homeowners and renters.

The deadline to apply for federal disaster assistance was Dec. 11. However, there is a 45-day grace period, through Jan. 25, for Hawaii residents and businesses to submit their SBA disaster loan applications for property damage resulting from wildfires. Small businesses and agricultural cooperatives, and most private nonprofits can apply for an SBA economic injury disaster loan until May 10. Survivors can apply for these loans online.

FEMA continues to ask those with available condos, vacation homes or apartments to make them available to house wildfire survivors as the agency works with the American Red Cross and the state to move wildlife survivors out of hotels and into temporary housing options. The agency also operates a Direct Lease program, where FEMA leases residential properties directly to survivors. Interested property owners who wish to temporarily lease their properties through the FEMA Direct Lease program can send inquiries to mauihousing2024@fema.dhs.gov.

Maui County, the state, FEMA and the private sector are also searching for owners of rental units “suitable for families and individuals,” to be offered for up to 24 months, until Aug. 10, 2025.

The Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program, managed by the state Department of Human Services and nonprofit Maui Economic Opportunity, also provides cash assistance to affected families. To be eligible, families must have at least one dependent child, experienced property loss or damage, and a loss of earnings or employment due to the wildfires.

More information on FEMA resources can be found on DisasterAssistance.gov, through the FEMA mobile app or by calling the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362. Those on Maui also can visit the Disaster Recovery Center at the Lahaina Civic Center Gymnasium, which is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays.