Nearly $67M in Federal Disaster Relief Funding Coming to Hawai‘i

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced on Monday, May 13, 2019, that Hawai‘i will receive $66.9 million in new federal disaster relief funding. The new Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funding will help state and local governments rebuild impacted communities, especially in low- and moderate-income areas, and provide resources to help businesses recover. Sen. Brian Schatz, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, worked with federal agencies and state and county officials to ensure Hawai‘i submitted a strong application to receive the maximum amount of funding. The new funding allocation was part of the $1.7 billion housing disaster recovery package Congress passed last year.

Sen. Brian Schatz

“As we continue to recover from the series of natural disasters that hit our state, these new federal grants will be a huge help,” said Sen. Schatz. “And while this is good news for Hawai‘i, it is not our only chance at additional federal funding. I will continue to fight for federal resources at every opportunity to help Hawai‘i recover.”

With the nearly $67 million in housing grants announced today, Hawai‘i has now been allocated more than $429 million in federal relief funding to help the state recover from the historic storms in April 2018, Hurricane Lane, and the eruption of Kīlauea on Hawai‘i Island including:

• $12 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in individual assistance to help people who have lost their home;
• $206 million from FEMA in public assistance to help local and state governments clean up and repair public infrastructure such as facilities, parks, and water lines;
• $93.1 million from the Department of Transportation to help rebuild roads and highways;
• $47.2 million from the Small Business Administration in subsidized loans to help individuals and businesses pay for repairs not covered by insurance;
• $4 million from the Department of Labor in Disaster Unemployment Insurance to help those who lost their job temporarily or permanently because of a disaster and are not eligible for regular unemployment benefits; and
• $187,000 from the Economic Development Administration to provide technical assistance for economic development activities in disaster impacted areas.