President approves Major Disaster Declaration for Hawaiʻi areas impacted by by Hurricane Lala

FEMA announced that federal disaster assistance is available to the state of Hawaiʻi to supplement recovery efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Lala from Aug. 14–16, 2026. 

Federal funding assistance through FEMA’s Public Assistance program is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by Hurricane Lala for the city and county of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi County and Maui County. 

Hirokazu Toiya has been named the Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected areas. Additional designations may be made at a later date if warranted by the results of damage assessments.

US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) said recently approved presidential disaster declarations will help communities across Hawai‘i recover. Schatz led calls urging the president to quickly approve the state’s disaster declaration requests.

“Recovering from back-to-back hurricanes requires significant resources, and help is on the way. I thank the president for approving these disaster declarations which will unlock federal resources and help our state and county governments rebuild. We’re going to keep working to make sure people affected by these storms have all the support they need to recover quickly and fully.”

Preliminary damage and future resilience needs following four major disasters in Hawaiʻi in 2026 total approximately $1 billion, according to early estimates released by Gov. Josh Green in September, 

Estimates and recovery commitments reported by state agencies total approximately $686 million from the March Kona Low storms, the May 22 magnitude 6.0 Hawaiʻi Island earthquake, Hurricane Lala and Hurricane Lowell. The state has also identified at least $319 million in proposed resilience and mitigation projects to strengthen critical infrastructure and prepare Hawaiʻi for future disasters.

The figures are preliminary and are subject to reconciliation as damage assessments and federal eligibility reviews continue. Residential, agricultural, utility and business losses have not been fully calculated.