City, state and Red Cross personnel made house to house checks along flood-ravaged areas Sunday to determine the scope of the damage from last week's heavy rains on O'ahu and Kaua'i.

Among the hardest-hit areas on O'ahu were were Waialua, Hale'iwa, Wai'anae, La'ie, Waipahu and parts of Mililani, officials said.

Coralie Matayoshi, American Red Cross Hawai'i Chapter chief executive officer, said her volunteers had determined that on O'ahu at least 190 homes were damaged and 34 of those had major damage or were destroyed.

She said at least 60 people spent Saturday night at Red Cross shelters in Wai'anae, La'ie and Hale'iwa.

She did not have a total for Kaua'i.

Red Cross volunteers continued pass out cleaning kits complete with bleach, cleansers, a mop and a bucket.

Some areas of O'ahu were walloped with as much as 15 inches of rain last week.

Firefighters responded to 26 such incidents with the bulk occurring between 2 and 10 p.m. Saturday.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann on Saturday signed an emergency declaration after inspecting areas hit hardest by Thursday's storm and Saturday's deluge. The declaration provides a mechanism to grant partial property tax refunds to eligible homeowners and waive building permit fees to speed up repairs. The declaration is also the first step in requesting additional disaster relief from the state and federal governments.

Gov. Linda Lingle has asked the U.S. Small Business Administration to issue a disaster declaration for O'ahu.

A declaration would make long-term low-interest loans available to businesses, home owners, and renters who suffered flood and other damage.

The governor said more than 200 homes and businesses on O'ahu were damaged in the storm which began on Wednesday and lasted through Saturday.

Lingle won approval for a similar request after wind and rain storms last year.

The governor also signed a state disaster proclamation on Friday to aid the recovery. That proclamation covers O'ahu, Kaua'i and Maui County.

On Kaua'i, Red Cross volunteers were focusing their efforts on the Menehune Road area near Waimea Valley, which experienced heavy flooding from the rains, Matayoshi said.

"The big concern right now is leptospirosis and mildew," Matayoshi said. "We have volunteers out there today assessing the damage."

Kaua'i Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. said, "Completing the damage assessments will be the top priority for our Civil Defense staff this week. We want to make sure we take advantage of every opportunity there may be to assist our residents with federal funding if we can qualify."

About 20 people from the state and city Civil Defense agencies and the Red Cross spread out over O'ahu yesterday counting damaged homes. Four teams were out today.

Firefighters had a quiet day yesterday, said Capt. Earle Kealoha, Honolulu Fire Department spokesman.

Among the more significant incidents over the weekend, according to Kealoha:

• Nine kayakers were rescued Saturday or helped offshore in Lanikai and Kailua. The weather conditions hampered their return to shore. Three kayakers were employees of the rental company who were unsuccessful in their attempted to steer the renters back to dry land. No one was injured, but two kayakers complained of nausea and treated by Emergency Medical Services personnel.

• Two teenagers were trapped in a stream near 85-1083 Kaneaki St. Saturday, off Wai'anae Valley Road and near the Kaupuni Stream. One of the two boys, who was rescued, suffered a laceration to his left leg. He was treated at the scene by EMS personnel and taken to the Waianae Comprehensive Medical Center. The other boy declined treatment.

• Early this morning, just after midnight, firefighters assisted in the evacuation of 30 to 40 people from the Makaha Valley Plantations townhouse complex on Ala Mahiku Street also in Wai'anae near the Makaha Stream. Kealoha said a large sinkhole had opened up in the area, causing officials to fear for the structural integrity of some of the units. Six units were evacuated and the people either went to the American Red Cross shelter in Wai'anae or moved in with friends and relatives, he said.

• U.S. Coast Guard crews were monitoring a vessel that ran aground 700 feet off of Kapapa'a Island Saturday at 10:30 p.m.

The Coast Guard received an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon signal late Saturday evening from the Cosmic California, a 40- to 50-foot double-masted sailing vessel. The two people aboard used a kayak to reach shore safely, the Coast Guard said.

The Red Cross still had two shelters open tonight — one at Wai'anae District Park and the other at BYU-Hawai'i at La'ie.

Most roads are open.

Anyone wishing to donate to the American Red Cross Hawai'i Chapter to help the flood victims, should go to www.hawaiiredcross.org. Flood donations should be made to Hawai'i 12-08 Flood. Or call 739-8109.