Ige Asks FEMA to Re-consider Flood Request for Kaua‘i, O‘ahu

Kauaʻi flood assessment. PC: Governor David Ige.

Governor David Ige is asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reconsider its initial denial of the state’s request for individual assistance for Kaua‘i and O‘ahu residents affected by April’s severe storms and flooding.

At least 760 homes were impacted in some way by the storm and floods on Kaua‘i and O‘ahu.  Of the 187 homes that were destroyed or severely damaged, 109 were owner-occupied.

The governor signed the request for reconsideration based on additional data including: the identification of additional damages resulting from the disaster; additional insurance information that has found a significant number of uninsured losses; updated damage and trauma information; the documentation of additional economic/unemployment impact from the disaster.

“The individual component of our request for assistance is very, very important and we were extremely disappointed when our request was initially denied. We have been working with FEMA to appeal that decision, and we believe the request for reconsideration that I signed today is much stronger,” Gov. Ige said.

Gov. Ige is seeking assistance from all of the federal individual assistance programs for Kauaʻi County and the City and County of Honolulu. The programs include Disaster Crisis Counseling, Disaster Unemployment Assistance, and Disaster Case Management.