President Approves Hawai‘i Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Lane

Today, President Donald Trump declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Hawaiʻi and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by Hurricane Lane from Aug. 22-29, 2018.

Federal funding 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 Lane in the counties of Hawaii, Kauai, and Maui.

Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Brock Long, Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Department of Homeland Security, named Dolph A. Diemont as the Federal Coordinating Officer for Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.

Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the State and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.

The request for a Presidential Disaster Declaration was made by Gov. David Ige to address the impacts of Hurricane Lane.

The Declaration means the state will receive support from the Public Assistance Grant Program for emergency and repair work for disaster-damaged facilities on Hawai‘i Island , Maui and Kaua‘i. In addition, the state will receive assistance from the Hazard Mitigation Program for actions taken to prevent or reduce long-term risk to life and property in the event of a natural disaster.

“The approval of our Presidential Disaster Declaration request will help our state recover more efficiently and quickly from the effects of Hurricane Lane. We thank President Trump and FEMA for approving our request, and for the attention they have given our state as we’ve faced a series of challenges over the last few months. We are grateful for their support as we continue our work to keep our residents and visitors safe,” said Gov. Ige.

The governor’s request for individual assistance is under review.