Posted on: Friday, December 31, 2004
State seeks federal aid in UH flooding
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
The governor and state civil defense officials late yesterday afternoon asked President Bush to declare "a major disaster for Hawai'i'" as the result of rains and flooding that caused damage of more than $76 million to the University of Hawai'i-Manoa and more than $5 million to an estimated 200 homes and businesses.
"The incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the state and ... supplementary federal assistance is necessary," wrote Gov. Linda Lingle to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Today was the deadline for the state to make such a request — or ask for another extension to do so. It already received one 30-day extension as officials struggled to assess the extensive damages, especially at UH.
FEMA will document the state's request and then make a recommendation to the president for response, said Edward T. Teixeira, Hawai'i Civil Defense vice director. An answer from the president could take a week or two, he said.
Lingle noted that along with damage to 32 facilities at the university, approximately 200 homes and businesses were affected, several roads and stream crossings were damaged, and a road and stream banks collapsed from flooding during Oct. 30 through Nov. 7.
In asking for a disaster declaration to qualify for federal assistance, the state is pegging the losses and costs of recovery at UH at almost $77 million — including the cost of cleanup by the Texas-based BMS Catastrophe recovery firm, $912,000 in losses to city and county roads and the cost of National Guard assistance.
These damage estimates do not include the cost of lost intellectual property and lost business.
The state is asking for help in two of three categories: public assistance and hazard mitigation. Hawai'i is not eligible for assistance under a third program, individual assistance, because FEMA already has determined the damage to homes is under the necessary threshold, Teixeira said. But businesses are eligible for low-interest government loans.
"These are two programs that go hand-in-hand in a disaster," Teixeira said. "Public assistance means restoring public infrastructure, government-owned buildings, roads and facilities."
Hazard mitigation, meanwhile, includes an additional 15 percent of the total amount that FEMA grants that will go toward making areas and facilities more resilient to future disasters.
Teixeira said such grants could be used in many ways, including putting into place some short-term solutions in the wake of the disaster such as finding ways to slow future floods down, and keep the water contained within the stream bed.
It's still difficult to determine how much federal assistance could come to Hawai'i, said Teixeira. But the state's $25 million in flood insurance would be subtracted first from a total amount, although Lingle's letter noted that the state still does not know how much of the damage its policy will cover.
However, FEMA assistance can be used to reimburse the 3 percent insurance policy deductible, said Teixeira.
And, Teixeira added, even when FEMA determines how much damage in each building is eligible for help, the federal government still divides the final bill with the state, paying 75 percent of the final tab to the state's 25 percent.
"They'll work with us to determine the eligibility by building and place," he said.
It's also unknown exactly how much state insurance premiums will rise as a result of federal help.
The state still is crunching numbers to try to determine that, said Teixeira. Currently the state pays a total of about $5 million in insurance premiums annually, he said.
Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.
