KOLOA — Erlinda Agcaoili said she still needs to return to the Registration Intake Center that opened Friday at the Koloa Public/School Library meeting room.
“They said I need the taxes for 2016 and 2017 to complete my report,” Agcaoili said. “But I’m glad my son told me to come and see what kind of help we can get for our house.”
Agcaoili owns a home on Aloha Place in Koloa that sustained damage from the flooding created by record-breaking rains in April.
“We had plenty mud all over,” Agcaoili said. “The walls, floor, doors, and bathroom. There was a lot of damage. We cleaned up almost everything, and my son said to make sure we kept the receipts.”
The Disaster Recovery Center in Hanalei and Registration Intake Center in Koloa opened Friday morning. They offered Federal Emergency Management Agency’s assistance, Small Business Administration loan assistance, and county agencies, including the Real Property Tax office.
It was a busy day in Hanalei, while a bit slower in Koloa.
The federal help is thanks to President Donald Trump’s approval on Tuesday of Hawaii’s request for individual assistance in flood impacted areas on Kauai and Oahu. That means they will be able to access federal funds and resources to help with recovery.
Hundreds of homes were destroyed or damaged on Kauai. Highways were washed out, vehicles were carried away and people were stranded by the flood waters of April 15. The North Shore is still recovering and Kuhio Highway has yet to reopen to the public.
“FEMA’s Individual Assistance program will directly benefit our homeowners, renters, businesses, and others who were impacted
financially and emotionally throughout these very difficult months,” said Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.
“With the upcoming opening of FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers on Kaua‘i, we look forward to continuing on this road to recovery together,” he said. “I commend and thank our county, state and community partners for their tireless work and persistence to ensure that our impacted residents would not be overlooked.”
The RIC site in Koloa will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today at the Koloa Public Library meeting room. The site will close until next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday after which time an assessment will determine if the site needs to remain available.
Hanalei School cafeteria hosted a Disaster Recovery Center with similar services with daily service from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Special Independence Day Hours will have the DRC hours modified to 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
An RIC site will open Sunday at the Kapaa Elementary School cafeteria from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and will be open through Wednesday where it will close at 1 p.m. in observance of Independence Day.
“The insurance is taking a long time,” said Jonna Querubin whose family also resides on Aloha Place. “We had a lot of damage because when the water is five feet deep, everything gets wet — the carpets, furniture, and even the cars. They told me to leave my phone number, and they will call to schedule an inspector.”
Querubin said a lot of the water-damaged items have been thrown away and replaced.
“All we have left are the pictures of how bad everything was,” she said. “I guess we’ll have to work with the inspectors using the pictures.”
Turnout for the initial day of the Koloa IRC was light with just four individuals going through registration, and one opting not to participate because of privacy by noon.
One of the officials working the facility said he was hopeful more people would come after getting off work.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
