Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann said he's fairly confident damage from last week's rains and flooding will exceed $2.7 million, the threshold for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

    Hannemann Asses Weather Damage  

 

 

Mayor Mufi Hannemann went around the island to see the weather damages for himself.

 

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Oahu Civil Defense said as of yesterday, 37 Oahu homes were destroyed and 17 suffered major damage. The Waikele River bridge was also damaged and the rooftop of a city gymnasium in Kailua was blown away, Hannemann said.

Hannemann, city firefighters and Oahu Civil Defense officials toured the areas hardest hit by the storm yesterday as part of the damage assessment process.

Hannemann first went to Haleiwa and Waialua, where Donna Peiler told the mayor the water was above her head.

“;I was hopping,”; she said of her escape from her home before it was swept away from its foundation. “;I got a bit stubborn trying to save some things, but my husband was telling me to get out.”;

Her husband, Ronald, was busy cleaning up where their home used to be. The wooden dwelling sat about 50 feet from its foundation. The mud level on its wall validated Peiler's story of the deep water.

“;There was no rescue, no helicopters, because it came as a surge,”; Ronald Peiler said, wiping the sweat off his brow. “;It just came up over the bank. All everybody had was about five minutes.”;

Hannemann told Ronald Peiler he was proud to see his resilience, and that he didn't just sit around and cry.

“;Maybe later,”; Ronald Peiler told the mayor, clenching his fists and holding back tears. “;Not now.”;

“;We're just getting all the mud out,”; said Lyle Kawamata of his parents' home in Haleiwa. “;We're just starting over. Hopefully we can get back to normal in five months.”;

Kawamata said that since the waters subsided, he and his family have been cleaning every day for “;as long as there's daylight.”;

Hannemann said there may be things the city can do to help victims.

“;We'll look into see if we can do some property tax relief, or rehab loan funds,”; the mayor said.

“;It's a tough time for all of this to happen during the holiday season and with the economy the way it is,”; he said.