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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Inouye praises resiliency since Windward flooding

 •  O'ahu residents can get recovery help

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

STILL OFF LIMITS

Beaches and waterways that remain contaminated:

Ka'elepulu Stream

Bellows Beach

Waimanalo Beach Park

Ala Wai Canal

Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor

Ala Wai Channel

Kane'ohe Beach Park

Kokokahi Beach

Source: State Department of Health

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KAHUKU — U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye said his tour of flood damage on the Windward side showed Hawai'i residents' resilient attitude.

"If a stranger walked in here, not aware of the disaster, that stranger would conclude that nothing happened because the yards are clean, the streets are cleared, culverts are cleaned up, the debris has been taken away," the Hawai'i Democrat said at the end of his tour in Kahuku. "This demonstrates the unique attitude of the people of Hawai'i. They work together. They're like family."

On the tour with Inouye was an entourage of government agencies that had responded to emergencies during a six-week siege of storms that flooded homes, overflowed streams and displaced residents. Representatives from the state Civil Defense, Department of Transportation and Department of Agriculture were among the group who stopped in Kane'ohe, Ka'a'awa and Kahuku.

Then there's the attitude of not making demands on government to fix the problems, the senator said. "As a result, instead of padding requests, they downgrade them."

A good example, Inouye said, is Kaua'i, which estimated its damage at around $12 million. Inouye said he requested $33.5 million, which was approved by Congress and was probably closer to the real cost.

"People of Hawai'i are exceptionally good," he said.

Inouye ended his tour at Kahuku High and Intermediate School, which had little damage to show from flooding that forced the campus to close for several days and left its field under water. The school is known to flood whenever there's heavy rain.

Lisa DeLong, school principal, said Inouye's observation about the people taking care of their own problem holds true for the school as well, where its supporters just pitch in to make repairs or do cleanup. But the school can't survive forever by just depending on residents, DeLong said.

"We can never move forward," she said. "We're always moving back. We need a long-term solution instead of always doing patches and repairs."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.