President Donald Trump on Tuesday approved a disaster declaration for Hawaii, making federal assistance available to clean up and rebuild after the devastation from Hurricane Lala.
Lala was a Category 1 hurricane as it moved just off the southern end of Hawaii island Aug. 15-16 then passed farther south of the smaller islands as a strong tropical storm. It left behind an estimated $81.4 million in damage to the state, mostly on the Big Island where some areas received nearly 40 inches of rain, but also on Oahu and Maui. In the Kau district, the worst-hit region, two people were killed, roads and bridges were rendered impassable and hundreds of structures were damaged or destroyed.
Over a week later, crews remain on the ground to document the damage and the cost of recovery is expected to continue to climb.
According to a Federal Emergency Management Agency news release, the federal assistance is for Hawaii County but “designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.”
Gov. Josh Green thanked Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and said the declaration paves the way federal assistance for the counties of Hawaii, Maui and Honolulu.
“Mahalo to President Trump, Secretary Mullin and our federal partners for acting quickly on Hawaii’s request,” he said in a statement. “This approval gives us access to specialized personnel, equipment and technical support that will help protect our communities, restore essential services and address the urgent needs created by Tropical Cyclone Lala. We will continue working side by side with our federal, county and community partners until every affected neighborhood is safely on the road to recovery and healing.”
Green said the state will work with FEMA and other federal agencies to aid in| the recovery, identification, documentation and reinterment of human remains displaced at Naalehu Cemetery by massive flooding from Lala. He called the cemetery recovery effort “an urgent cultural, public health and operational challenge.”
Federal support also includes experts and equipment to establish temporary power systems, the governor said.
Makana McClellan, Green’s spokesperson, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that, “The recent Federal Emergency Declaration signed by the President was requested to provide direct federal assistance for the state’s most critical needs, which were essential power distribution and cemetery recovery efforts in Kau. … Joint Preliminary Damage Assessments are in progress and expected to be completed in early September to inform any subsequent submissions for a Federal Disaster Declaration for the state and impacted counties.
“Overall, the current declaration will bring other resources and cost-share benefits, and will likely encompass the other counties,” she said.
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said the declaration will bring critical federal resources to communities impacted by Hurricane Lala.
“(It will) help with restoring essential services, clearing debris, and repairing damaged infrastructure,” he said. “We will continue working with Governor Green, county leaders, and the administration to make sure Hawai‘i gets the support it needs to recover.”
Teams from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency will continue to be on Maui and Hawaii island — tentatively until Tuesday — and the “Kau region may require more time to assess because of significant damages,” HI-EMA spokesperson Kiele Amundson wrote in an email to the Star-Advertiser.
Hawaii island so far estimates its damage to private and public structures and buildings at $49.3 million, followed by Oahu with $25.6 million, and Maui County at $6.4 million.
Honolulu officials are still assessing damage across Oahu and do not have precise locations for where damage occurred.
Agriculture operations on Hawaii island, Maui County and Oahu reported a total of $3.4 million in damage over 79 total farms, encompassing 360 acres.
About $1.3 million in damage involved “infrastructure,” followed by $913,000 in damaged or destroyed crops, $777,000 worth of machinery and $32,000 in livestock damage.
On Oahu, officials said one structure was destroyed, 27 experienced major damage, 368 had minor damage and 256 were “affected.”
FEMA lists “major” structural damage as requiring “extensive repairs or damage from floodwaters when the waterline is at or above the electrical outlets in an essential living space in a conventionally built home, or when the waterline enters the living space of a manufactured home.”
Minor damage is characterized as “repairable, non-structural damage to … a conventionally built home, or when the waterline is in the floor system of a manufactured home.”
Properties that are “affected” are safe to occupy.
Hawaii County’s Department of Water said Tuesday that water service has not been restored to parts of Upper Mountain View, Hawi and Pahala.
At its peak, Lala temporarily knocked out power to about 200,000 customers across Hawaii island, Maui and Oahu. State, county and utility crews continue to restore services, which often involves repairing infrastructure and clearing debris, officials said. As of Tuesday, over 4,000 Hawaii island customers were still without power, according to Hawaiian Electric Co. officials.
HI-EMA Administrator David Lopez said in a statement that “HI-EMA is working closely with the counties of Hawaii, Maui, and Honolulu, to coordinate state and federal resources in support of locally identified priorities.
“This emergency declaration strengthens our ability to help counties sustain life-safety operations, restore essential services and reach communities affected by severe flooding, infrastructure damage and prolonged outages. Our focus is ensuring that assistance is coordinated, responsive and delivered where it is needed most.”
FEMA said Hirokazu Toiya has been named the federal coordinating officer for response operations in Hawaii. In 2024, Toiya left his position of six years as director of Honolulu’s Department of Emergency Management to accept a role with FEMA’s Incident Management Assistance Team for Region 9, which includes Hawaii.
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