Nearly $100,000 will be needed to help victims of last week's flood, according to an estimate by the Hawaii Red Cross.

"Losing your home at any time of the year is devastating, but especially during the holidays," said Coralie Chun Matayoshi, chief executive of the Hawaii Red Cross, in a news release.

"Thank goodness for our wonderful volunteers who are working tirelessly to provide comfort and aid to people who have lost everything they own, and for companies like Wal-Mart and Home Depot for donating recovery supplies. If not for our volunteers and these companies, the cost would be much higher," Matayoshi said.

The Red Cross is not a government agency and relies on donations to provide critical disaster relief to the community. In Hawai'i, the Red Cross responds to disasters every three days on average. The recent flooding is just one of those disasters.

Families started evacuating to six Red Cross shelters even before the storm hit. Dozens of people have been sheltered and fed by the Red Cross since the storm, and one shelter remained open last night at Brigham Young University in La'ie.

Red Cross volunteers have been canvassing neighborhoods and found more than 200 homes damaged by the storm. Thirty-six were destroyed or incurred major damage.

On Tuesday, Red Cross volunteers distributed three large truckloads of Red Cross recovery items as well as supplies donated by Home Depot and Wal-Mart to residents in the hardest-hit areas of Wai'anae, North Shore, and La'ie to Waimanalo. Items include tarps, blankets, shovels, work gloves, rope, cleanup kits, garbage bags, toiletries and stuffed toys.

Red Cross volunteers also met with 10 families in Hale'iwa and Waialua and provided them with financial assistance for their immediate emergency needs. Red Cross case workers and mental health workers, together with state and city agencies and other nonprofit organizations, are staffing Disaster Assistance and Recovery Centers through Friday from 1 to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at various locations.

At these centers, Red Cross volunteers will meet with more families to assess their individual needs, including financial assistance for food, clothing and bedding. Red Cross could also provide families whose homes were destroyed with first month's rent and security deposits.