Hawai‘i County officials meet with South Kona residents impacted by 6.0-magnitude earthquake

On the night of May 22, Joshua Watan was sleeping in his South Kona home, along with his six kids, when a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck. His dogs woke him up. And then he heard what sounded like a boom.

“When I got out of my bed, my floor was flexing so much that it hit me under my foot, and it felt like a hammer,” Watan said.

Rock walls came down around his property, and his lanai shifted and is now leaning, with the foundation compromised.

Nearly a week after the earthquake, Watan and about 100 other South Kona residents attended a community meeting at the Sgt. Rodney J.T. Yano Memorial Hall in Captain Cook, where Hawai‘i County department heads answered questions about the recovery process and walked them through filing damage reports.

Hawai‘i County Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno said more than 300 people have reported property damage to the county.While it initially was reported that eight homes collapsed in the quake, Magno clarified it was seven, with one of the homes having a separate living entrance.

There are nearly 90 cases of significant damage to properties, with 50 reports of impacts to water systems, Magno said.

Watan said he initially didn’t report his damage to the county because he planned to file a claim with insurance, but he found out his insurance didn’t cover earthquake damage.

Watan called Thursday’s meeting a blessing because it allowed his family to file a damage report and get some direction on the next steps.

Magno said many catchment systems that hold water either failed or “are broken in some way, whether it’s pipes, liners, or an entire tank. And then others had some kind of foundation structural failure or damage.”

Pam, who did not want to provide her last name, said she lost her South Kona home in the earthquake.

She was by her car outside her home when she felt the jolt: “I kind of just stood there, then it hit like a bomb, and it knocked me off my feet.”

With her husband in the house, she started to go inside her home. But after taking just one step, the house collapsed.

Pam said she came out to Thursday’s meeting to get resources and find some help. She discovered: “I’m not the only one.”

Magno said the county will be out next week with the Small Business Administration to continue assessments of the damaged properties. Once the assessments are completed, they will be submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to seek additional aid.

Hawai‘i County Mayor Kimo Alameda signed an emergency proclamation on May 27 related to the earthquake.

Magno thinks the county should get word back by the end of next week about whether FEMA will provide help in this disaster.

Magno is telling residents who start repairs to document what they do with pictures and keep all the paperwork, so if assistance programs do kick in, they can still file for aid.

Luckily, Watan said, they are connected to county water and do not have a catchment tank.

For now, Watan and his family are still living in the home, and avoiding the compromised area. But he said: “It’s a big mess,”

Watan estimated his home’s damage at $20,000 to $30,000.

“As we speak, there’s still debris coming off of that corner,” Watan said. “So, it’s very unstable, very unsafe.”

Greg Goodale with the Department of Water Supply said Thursday that damages to catchment tanks are related to the plastic liner system that retains the water.

“When the tanks moved, essentially, the force of the water moving that tank tore the plastic liner,” Goodale said.

Many of the catchment tanks used by homeowners in the area hold 10,000 gallons of water.

To address the water needs of residents, the county Parks and Recreation Department will keep the gates at the Hōnaunau Rodeo Arena unlocked from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. seven days a week to ensure access to water spigots.

South Kona resident Shaheer Faltas said if damages don’t meet the FEMA threshold for aid, money will not flow, leaving the community vulnerable.

Faltas said the earthquake destroyed his 80-foot-long, 16-foot-tall retaining wall.

“It’s really like we’re in two universes right now,” Faltas said. “You drive down 10 to 15 minutes, and life’s going on like normal. But here we got punched and hit to the canvas and we’re kind of on the ropes, and we need people, leaders, in our corner.”

And that’s why Faltas attended Thursday’s meeting. He wanted to see county leadership paying attention to South Kona.

“I came to ask for effective, empathetic, understanding leadership that acts swiftly and creatively to meet the unique needs of the South Kona residents,” he said.

Faltas also wanted to know what resources were going to flow to the community.

In spite of the tragedy, people at the meeting said the community has rallied and people are taking care of each other.

Four GoFundMe fundraisers were started to help families who lost their homes, including one fo the Sanchis family and one for Asia and Cody and their young children. Money is also being raised for Angela Kang, known to many as “Kumu Kang,” and Emily Alani, “Auntie Em,” whose home suffered catastrophic structural damage.

A fundraiser was also started for the Benson family, after their home’s foundation shifted, windows and glass shattered, shelves collapsed, doors broke off their hinges and their water pump broke, causing them to lose nearly 15,000 gallons of stored water.

Civil Defense continues to urge residents and businesses to report damage from the earthquake online or by calling the agency at 808-935-0031.

Damage reports assist the county with seeking state or federal disaster assistance, as well as identify priorities and focus resources if assistance becomes available.

Residents needing immediate help — such as food, clothing, debris removal or shelter — can complete a Request for Assistance through Vibrant Hawaiʻi or by calling Civil Defense at 808-935-0031.