Gov. Neil Abercrombie was scheduled to arrive on Hawaii Island today at 2:15 p.m., in advance of a Friday preliminary damage assessment of storm damage by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. ADVERTISING Gov. Neil Abercrombie was scheduled to arrive on
Gov. Neil Abercrombie was scheduled to arrive on Hawaii Island today at 2:15 p.m., in advance of a Friday preliminary damage assessment of storm damage by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Should that damage assessment meet federal requirements, the governor is expected to request that President Barack Obama declare a “major disaster” as a result of Tropical Storm Iselle, freeing up federal funding for recovery efforts, according to Abercrombie spokesman Justin Fujioka.
The governor will head to the Hawaii County Civil Defense office at 2:15 to meet with Mayor Billy Kenoi and Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira, Fujioka said. He will then take a tour of areas impacted by the storm, including Kalapana, Kalapana Sea View Estates and Nanawale Estates.
The governor is scheduled to return to Honolulu around 5:30 p.m. today.
In a phone interview Wednesday morning, FEMA spokesman Casey De Shong said that FEMA staffers would arrive on the island Friday to perform a preliminary damage assessment with county and state emergency management personnel.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
