As the threat from Hurricane Ana appeared to fizzle Friday, Hawaii County officials announced an appeal for federal relief funding for damages wrought by Tropical Storm Iselle was denied.
The Oct. 7 appeal was submitted in response to an Aug. 28 decision by President Barack Obama to not declare a major disaster in the wake of Tropical Storm Iselle. The storm, which made landfall in lower Puna about 2:30 a.m. Aug. 8, felled trees and power lines throughout the district, and kicked up heavy surf and storm surge in low-lying areas. Hundreds of homes were affected, with some being rendered unliveable.
The major disaster declaration would have triggered a release of funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for an individual assistance program, providing emergency low-interest loans for families looking to rebuild and repair their homes and property.
“After a thorough review of all the information contained in the initial request and your appeal, we reaffirm our original findings that the impact to individuals and households from this event is not of the severity and magnitude as to be beyond the combined capabilities of the state, affected local governments and voluntary agencies,” wrote FEMA representative Elizabeth A. Zimmerman in denying the application.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Ana, which was upgraded from a tropical storm at about 11 a.m. Friday, appeared later in the afternoon to be keeping on track to bypass the Big Island, according to National Weather Service forecasts.
“Right now, we’re conservatively, cautiously optimistic that the hurricane will pass to the south of the island and at a distance where we may not see a hard or substantial impact,” said Darryl Oliveira, administrator of Hawaii County Civil Defense, during a 3 p.m. media briefing.
The storm, which at 2 p.m. Friday was moving at about 17 mph, was 225 miles souuthwest of Hilo, and was expected to pass about 115 miles to the southwest of Hawaii Island. The storm was exhibiting hurricane force winds up to 20 miles from its center and tropical storm force winds up to 80 miles from the eye.
Despite the expectation that the Big Island would dodge Ana’s worst effects, residents were asked to remain vigilant, as heavy surf and rains could still cause serious damage and injury, Oliveira warned.
Waves of between 8 and 15 feet were reported in Pohoiki, and 6-8 feet in Punaluu.
“We’re going to continue to monitor it (the surf) as it comes around to the Kona side, the surf could be 6-8 feet or maybe higher on the west side,” he said. “Also, we’re looking at satellite imagery, and there is still a lot of moisture yet to approach the island, and in areas like Ka‘u and Kona, it doesn’t take much for flooding problems.
Additionally, heavy winds also were expected, with county ground crews registering winds gusting up to 40 mph in Ocean View on Friday, and sustained winds of 20-30 mph.
The peak storm conditions were expected to impact the Big Island at 2 a.m. Satuurday morning.
The reduced expectations concerning the impacts of Ana were evident in the responses of East Hawaii residents Friday.
There were no boarded windows along Bayfront in Hilo, whereas when Iselle was approaching, nearly all storefronts were covered in plywood. And grocery stores weren’t experiencing the same intense runs on items such as bottled water and rice.
At about 1 p.m., small clusters of volunteers from the Red Cross and the school chatted with each other out front and inside of the Waiakea High gym, which served as the only emergency shelter open in the Hilo area. They appeared disappointed when they learned journalists from the Tribune-Herald weren’t clients seeking shelter.
“We’ve had no clients as of yet,” said Red Cross volunteer Christine Makaweo. “We’ve had a couple phone calls and inquiries … just checking to see if we’d be open. And that’s it.”
In his 3 p.m. briefing, Oliveira reported none of the island’s nine evacuation shelters had reported any residents seeking shelter.
He added as a result of the storm track veering away from the island, the number of available shelters on the island was reduced to five.
“We did adjust the sheltering facilities from what we posted (Thursday),” he said. “It had a lot to do with what changed with the storm after consultation with the National Weather Service. We’ve reduced the number down to five now, based on the areas foorecasted to get some kind of impact. … Also, Red Cross has been stretched pretty thin, and we wanted to avoid taxing their volunteer resources.”
The five shelters open on the island Friday included:
- Ka‘u High and Pahala Elementary School
- Konawaena High School
- Kealakehe High School
- Waiakea High School
- Pahoa High and Intermediate School
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
