Hawaiʻi County adds weekend help for earthquake disaster assistance
Hawaiʻi County in coordination with partners is adding an additional community resource center to help residents apply for disaster assistance if they were impacted by the major magnitude-6.0 May 22 earthquake in South Kona.
Financial assistance continues to be available from Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Small Business Administration. Residents have until Nov. 1 to apply.
The new community resource center will be open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays at the Pure Kona Green Market hosted at Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, located at 82-6160 Māmalahoa Highway, in Captain Cook, and will be staffed by Federal Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Administration representatives who can answer questions about the application process.
“We want to make it as easy as possible for residents to get assistance, and we thank the market organizers for making this space available,” said Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda. “While visiting a [community resource center] is not necessary to apply for disaster relief, representatives are there to help you through the process.”
More than $1.5 million in federal disaster assistance already was approved for Hawai‘i Island residents who sustained damages in the earthquake. More than 300 applications were filed so far, but the county initially received more than 600 damage reports.
“We also want to remind residents that simply reporting damage is not enough to apply for federal aid,” Alameda said. “They still need to apply for the funds if they want to qualify for federal assistance to address earthquake damage.”
Federal Emergency Management Agency individual assistance could cover temporary housing assistance, repairs, personal property and other expenses that were not covered by insurance or other assistance.
Small Business Administration offers low-interest disaster assistance loans for property damage to qualified property owners and renters, with terms as much as 30 years to repay and no payments due for the first year.
Businesses also could qualify for assistance if they sustained economic injury.
You do not need to apply in-person for assistance.
The established earthquake community resource centers will continue to operate throughout October:
- 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Yano Hall, 82-6156 Māmalahoa Highway, Captain Cook.
- Noon to 4 p.m. Friday, Kealakekua Public Library, 81-6619 Māmalahoa Highway, Kealakekua.
To apply for Federal Emergency Management Agency aid:
- Complete an online application.
- Call the helpline at 800-621-3362, available 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
To apply for U.S. Small Business Administration assistance:
- Complete an application online.
- Call the toll free number at 800-659-2955.
- Email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
These programs are available for damages as a result of the May 22 earthquake.
The state also requested federal disaster assistance for residences damaged by Hurricane Lala and is awaiting a decision.
