Hawaii Gov. Reports $31M FEMA Funds to Help in Recovery of October Flood

Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle announced that the University of Hawaii expects to receive $31 million of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) public assistance funding to offset damages sustained in the Oct. 30, 2004 flood at the Manoa campus.

The amount reflects the federal share estimate of public assistance funding that the University would qualify for pursuant to the Presidential disaster declaration. The federal assistance will be used to pay for part of the cleanup and repairs on the Manoa campus, where flooding damaged 32 facilities.

Gov. Lingle made the request for a Presidential disaster declaration on Dec. 30, 2004, and followed up with phone calls to the Bush Administration and FEMA officials. President Bush approved the disaster declaration on Feb. 1, 2005. FEMA officials arrived in Hawaii in early February to begin their detailed damage assessments.

“I would like to express my appreciation to the FEMA officials who have been working diligently and expeditiously with University of Hawaii and other state agencies to complete their assessments,” said Gov. Lingle. “Because of their efforts we can be assured that the necessary resources will be made available to bring the Manoa campus back to normal as quickly as possible.”

Hawaii State Civil Defense will administer FEMA’s Public Assistance program that provides grants on a 75 to 25 percent cost-sharing basis – $31 million from FEMA and $10 million from the University of Hawaii. The University’s share will be funded by general obligation bonds and general funds.

Federal guidelines for public assistance funding will require the State to increase its insurance coverage for impacted buildings. The cost of additional insurance may increase from $350,000 to $650,000 annually.