Hawaii delegation asks president to approve disaster aid after 6.0 earthquake

WASHINGTON, D.C. (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii’s congressional delegation is asking President Donald Trump to approve the state’s disaster declaration for May’s 6.0 earthquake on Hawaii Island.

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U.S. Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and U.S. Representatives Ed Case (D-Hawaii) and Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii) sent a letter to the president asking him to act on Gov. Josh Green’s request for the disaster declaration for the affected areas.

The letter said nearly 550 homes were damaged, and 110 were destroyed or severely impacted.

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“It is difficult to overstate the stress that the earthquake has placed on this community, where approximately 20 percent of the population lives at or below the poverty line, and roughly 20 percent of the general population reports having a disability. State and county governments are also stretched to their capacities by the successive disasters the State has faced since 2018,” the delegation said in their letter to the president.

The declaration would unlock federal funding for an individual assistance program for Hawaii County and a hazard mitigation grant program.

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