Hawai'i will receive more than $13.5 million in aid to help Kaua'i and O'ahu recover from 42 consecutive days of rain earlier this year, under an emergency appropriations bill passed by a U.S. House and Senate conference committee.

The aid package includes $2 million for dam-break analyses of selected dams and reservoirs that may have been weakened by the downpours. Concerns about dam safety are heightened after the Kaloko Dam on Kaua'i breached in March, killing seven people and causing millions of dollars in property damage.

The total aid falls short of the $20 million the state would have received under a version of the bill passed by the Senate last month. That bill was $14 billion more than requested by President Bush's administration, and House leaders indicated they would be unwilling to spend more than the administration had asked for.

The conference committee agreed yesterday to a $94.5 billion bill that focuses most on war efforts and Gulf Coast hurricane relief. It is $2 million more than Bush's proposal.

"I'm disappointed that the recovery assistance is less than what the Senate approved, but it was the firm decision of the Bush administration that this appropriations measure be devoted almost entirely for funding the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for hurricane recovery along the Gulf Coast," said U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye in a press release issued yesterday.

Inouye said he wanted disaster relief to reach the state as soon as possible, but "it was clear that the Bush White House placed very little priority on Hawai'i and other areas of the United States that experienced devastating natural disasters."

The compromise bill now before both chambers includes $11.5 million to repair Kuhio Highway on Kaua'i and roads on O'ahu that were damaged by rain and flooding in February and March. The funding was lower than the $20 million secured by Inouye earlier to match the state's own assessment of the damage.

The bill needs to be approved by the full House and Senate, then by the president.