A startling jump in foreclosures last month that raised Hawaii to 20th in a nationwide ranking might not be as unsettling after a closer look at the numbers.

Nonetheless, island homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments as home values and equity fall off, unemployment rises and the state economy stumbles have reason to worry. Foreclosures mean that individuals and families have lost the roofs over their heads.

The hurriedly passed bailout legislation doesn't compel banks to adjust the loans of distressed homeowners and, though the federal government is necessarily focused on a bank rescue plan, many homeowners are inching closer to crisis.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Treasury Department's newly created Office of Financial Stability hope to work out a plan to give lenders a partial guarantee - using, as with the bailout, taxpayer money - as motivation to modify mortgages, but the agencies need to move swiftly.

New foreclosure filings hit 765,000 nationwide in the third quarter, 71 percent more than in the same period in 2007. In Hawaii last month, a record 594 foreclosures were recorded, a 74.8 percent increase from August.

That placed the state 20th in the nation for the number of foreclosures, at one for every 842 households. When compared to the national mark of one for every 475 households, Hawaii's numbers don't look so bad, but that's small comfort for someone whose property has been repossessed.

With each repossession, banks lose money, too, and if something isn't done to prevent further foreclosures, bailing out financial institutions will be pointless.

If the situation doesn't change, Congress should insert mandatory language into the rescue package.