Officials from the U.S. Small Business Administration were on O'ahu yesterday touring flood-ravaged areas in response to Gov. Linda Lingle's disaster declaration.

The federal officials accompanied state Civil Defense personnel to verify damage in some of the worst affected areas of Hale'iwa and Waialua, said Ray Lovell, civil defense spokesman.

The visit is one of the first steps to providing affected families and homeowners with much-needed help, Lovell said.

The governor's declaration provided a way for homeowners to receive partial property tax refunds and to possibly have their building permit fees waived to speed up the repair and recovery process.

The federal officials are expected to report their findings to the U.S. Small Business Administration sometime this week.

Meanwhile, officials have not released a dollar estimate of the damage caused by Thursday's storm and the weekend downpour. Ed Teixeira, state Civil Defense vice director, said yesterday that a preliminary estimate of damage by the state Civil Defense Agency is at about $1.6 million on O'ahu. That figure is more than likely to rise.

Similarly, the state has yet to begin to compile numbers related to flood insurance claims resulting from the rain. Carol Tyau-Beam, the state National Flood Insurance Program coordinator, said the state will likely compile that information soon.

As of Monday night, civil defense has identified 47 homes or other structures that suffered major damage or destruction, Lovell said. Criteria considered when determining whether a home has suffered major damage includes the level of flood waters, if flood water has affected electrical wiring in the home, whether the roof is still in tact and the stability of the building's foundation.

"Right now the dollar amount isn't as important as determining whether people can still live in their homes," Lovell said.

"Our focus is on looking at what people's needs are most immediately," he said.

Coralie Matayoshi, American Red Cross Hawai'i Chapter chief executive, said her volunteers identified 213 homes affected in some way. Of the 213 homes, 36 suffered major damage or were destroyed.

The variation in numbers compiled by civil defense and the American Red Cross is due to different criteria used by the respective agencies.

Monday night, two Red Cross shelters were open and 51 people stayed overnight, Matayoshi said.

The organization planned to close its Wai'anae shelter at 5 p.m. yesterday. People at that shelter have been moved to transitional housing, Matayoshi said. The shelter in La'ie likely will remain open until Friday.

Also yesterday, the Red Cross continued its damage assessments and began distributing three truckloads of recovery items and supplies, Matayoshi said. Items including tarps, blankets, shovels, rope and cleaning kits were distributed to residents in the hardest-hit areas of Wai'anae, North Shore, La'ie and Mililani.