DISASTER CENTER AIDS FLOOD VICTIMS
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
State, city and county agencies and disaster relief groups set up tables yesterday at Kualoa Ranch to assist Windward residents who had flood damage. Sitting at the state Civil Defense table were Punaluu property owners David Figueira, his wife, Anne (not pictured), and daughter, Kristie. "It's so nice that they're here," Anne Figueira said. "I really appreciate that, just to have someone listen." The agencies will continue offering help today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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Help arrives for Windward Oahu
Residential property damage could top $5 million, says one of the dozens of officials staffing the one-stop center
Several dozen victims of the recent Windward Oahu flooding looked for aid and advice at the Disaster Assistance Recovery Center, where a state official estimated residential property damage from the deluge could top $5 million.
The center, a sort of one-stop shop for governmental and private agency help, opened yesterday at Kualoa Ranch in Kaaawa and will be open today and possibly tomorrow, officials said.
Laie flooding victims Dawn and Henry Wasson stopped at almost every one of the 19 agency tables at the center.
The couple hopes to get a $50,000 low-interest loan for major repairs to their three-bedroom wood-frame home, Dawn Wasson said. They need a new roof and repairs to the interior and foundation of the house, she said.
While at the center, the Wassons applied for emergency property tax breaks and arranged to have their cesspool pumped out and later replaced with an upgraded septic system. They also found out about possible help from the state Agriculture Department for their son, Harry, whose taro crop and farm machinery were damaged by the flood.
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Hauula resident Steve Daugherty filled out a registration form yesterday morning at Kualoa Ranch to receive disaster relief assistance. "The biggest problem is the state and county fight over who's responsible," he said. "So we end up cleaning it out ourselves. That's why I'm here. We need to sort this out."
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"This place has been excellent," Dawn Wasson said. "The people are very informative and helpful. They told us exactly what kind of help they could give us."
Wasson said she planned to tell affected neighbors that the center is useful and there's no shame in seeking its help.
Patty and John Duggan's Kaaawa yard is now "a 5,000-square-foot sink hole," because of erosion from flood waters and traffic from emergency city pumper trucks, they said. They learned yesterday that city crews will bring gravel and dirt to fill it when it's dry enough.
"That's really cool of them," John Duggan said.
"Above and beyond the call of duty," Patty Duggan added.
While those using the center said they were pleased with it, some affected residents stayed away.
Though mud, rocks and debris flooded Norman Bode's Kaaawa home, he said he wouldn't seek help from the center because he wasn't impressed with government and Red Cross workers this week.
"I hope some help was acquired today, but I doubt it," he said.
Still, city wastewater supervisor Clement Padeken signed up 23 households at the center to pump out their flooded septic tanks. Padeken can relate, since his Kaaawa house flooded twice on March 2 with up to 10 inches of water.
The American Red Cross has identified 137 households affected by flooding March 1-3 and again on Wednesday and Thursday, said Ed Teixeira, vice director of state Civil Defense.
Of those, only four have reported major structural damage or water more than 3 feet deep inside a house, Teixeira said. Nineteen more have minor flood damage, and 111 homes have flooding problems in yards and outbuildings, he said.
Since people are still calling Aloha United Way's 211 number with flooding damage reports, he estimates 150 to 200 households may have been affected, and that the residential damage could top $5 million.
By comparison, "the (Oct. 30, 2004) Manoa flood had about $5 million in personal property damage," not including damage to the University of Hawaii campus, he said.
The state Department of Agriculture is still compiling damage estimates to crops and farmers from this month's flooding, said Dean Matsukawa, a department loan administrator.
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARBULLETIN.COM
Two children sat next to the Disaster Recovery Center sign yesterday at Kualoa Ranch.
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Some of the 60 residents at the disaster assistance center yesterday were asking about sandbags to fortify their homes against more rain, expected as soon as tomorrow, Teixeira said.
In response, he planned to get a load of sand delivered today so empty bags could be filled and taken home by people coming to the center.
Residents, meanwhile, were grateful for clear skies yesterday, but "a lot of upper-air disturbances" could trigger heavy windward and mauka showers before the saturated ground dries out, National Weather Service forecaster Bob Farrell warned.
Some Windward areas have received up to two times their normal rainfall for this time of year, weather service figures show.
"The next one looks like it should affect us primarily Tuesday and Tuesday night into Wednesday, Farrell said. "But even between now and then, we could have heavy trade showers," he said.
Oahu got a break from significant rain yesterday, with the exception of Waianae Valley at 1.5 inches and Poamoho in the upper Koolaus with 3 inches, according to the weather service. Kauai received 4 to 5 inches in most areas of the island, Farrell said.
One factor in the recent rainy weather, Farrell said, is "a really large storm on the West Coast, which is pulling cold air east of us and blocking everything from moving east. That will probably affect us through next week."
WHERE TO GO
City and state government agencies will staff a Disaster Assistance Recovery Center 10 a.m.-5 p.m. today, offering information about loans, services and help available in the wake of Windward flooding.
State Civil Defense Vice Director Ed Teixeira will decide late today whether to keep the center open tomorrow.
Those who cannot make it to the center, at Kualoa Ranch in Kaaawa, can call Aloha United Way's 211 information line 24 hours a day and give information about flooding problems and needs, to be passed along to appropriate agencies.
Honolulu Civil Defense can be reached at 523-4121 and the state Civil Defense is at 733-4300.
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