UH planned to resume classes today for the first time since Saturday's flooding, and yesterday requested — and received — cleanup help from the National Guard.

With plenty of work still ahead, the Department of Health warned of two possible health implications: leptospirosis, a bacterial disease that could lurk in polluted floodwaters and the mud it left behind; and mosquitoes.

But it was the individual stories that residents told yesterday that best helped officials assess the damage and provided the first overall look at the extent of the personal loss.

Nearly 10 inches of rain sent Manoa Stream rampaging through the valley and the UH campus, knocking homes off foundations, destroying UH research laboratories and in many cases setting the work of UH scientists back months or years.

When the disaster center closed at 6 p.m. yesterday, 126 families had filed information about losses and sought help in recovering their property. Requests ranged from replacing wet and damaged carpets to removing boulders from the stream that passes through their land, to loans for major repairs.

The center will be closed today and reopen again tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the same place, Manoa Park's old gymnasium.

Vernelle Oku surveys the damage from last weekend's flooding in her home at 3327B E. Manoa Road in Manoa. It's uncertain yet whether homeowners will be able to qualify for federal disaster assistance. Rebecca Breyer • The Honolulu Advertiser

"They said they'll give us a rebate on this year's (state) taxes," said her husband, Thomas Otaguro. "Our patio and garage area is still flooded. There were a lot of things on the floor and everything got ruined."

But it was clear yesterday that the road to recovery includes patience along with paperwork, as homeowners were told they must first exhaust personal insurance policies before they could be qualified for state low-interest loans or even an outright grant of up to $25,000.

"There's no place where the feds give you a check," said Civil Defense vice director Ed Teixeira.

It's uncertain whether the damage will qualify for federal disaster assistance, although the state will apply, he said. Damage must fit certain criteria, including involving at least 25 homes or businesses that sustained at least 40 percent damage. Federal officials were still trying to determine if the state will qualify.

Mildred Yim was trying to estimate how much it would cost to replace her free-standing backyard deck, tables and lawnchairs that all washed away in the flood. Her son saw the deck, in pieces, stacked up in the dam of rubbish by Woodlawn Bridge.

"We could fit 100 people on it," said Yim, who didn't know the deck had even been swept away from her Pakanu Place home until her neighbor knocked on her door with the bad news.

Thomas Yoshioka escaped damage to his home, but where the stream runs through his property, the rushing water knocked over a tool shed, ripped away his lawnmower and left a pile of boulders in the streambed.

"The stream is blocked," said Yoshioka, who just discovered the problem Tuesday. "If there's more rain it could flood my neighbor. I need somebody from the state to remove them. I'm too old. But I'm trying to move whatever we can so the water can flow."

Yoshioka was in the same boat as Otaguro and a number of other victims, older and retired, with paid-up mortgages. Without mortgages, they no longer have flood insurance as part of their monthly payment.

As homeowners spoke with disaster team members, health officials noted that mosquitoes were becoming a problem, and Robert Lopes, supervisor of the Health Department's Vector Control Branch, said crews will be out today to help.

While one resident, Eileen Saito, complained that the Civil Defense sirens should have warned about the flooding, others were grateful that help was being offered. Karen Otaguro was one of those trying to be optimistic.

"We were so lucky to have all boys," she said of her grown children. "They all came to help and it was so nice to see the family together. I told my husband, 'Good things come out of bad. Material things can all be replaced.' "

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.