Hawaii Governor: 2026 disasters so far cost state $1B in damage, recovery

News admin September 24, 2026 0 Comments

Hawaii Governor: 2026 disasters so far cost state $1B in damage, recovery

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hawaii is facing nearly $1 billion in disaster recovery and resilience needs following four major disasters this year.

Gov. Josh Green said Wednesday that current damage and recovery costs from the March Kona Low storms, May 22 Hawaii Island earthquake, Hurricane Lala and Hurricane Lowell total about $686 million.

The state has also identified at least $319 million in proposed resilience and mitigation projects aimed at strengthening critical infrastructure against future disasters.

“Four major disasters in six months have caused extraordinary damage across our state and made clear that recovery and resilience must move forward together,” Green said.

The largest share of currently identified costs — about $463.6 million — is tied to the March Kona Low storms.

Hurricane Lowell accounts for approximately $112.4 million, while Hurricane Lala caused about $108 million in identified damage and recovery costs.

At least $1.5 million has been identified in connection with the Hawaii Island earthquake, though officials said major cost categories are still undetermined.

Across all four disasters, 1,290 homes were affected, including 74 destroyed and 451 with major damage.

Another 514 homes sustained minor damage and 251 were otherwise affected.

State officials stressed that the figures remain preliminary as damage assessments and federal eligibility reviews continue.

Residential, agricultural, utility and business losses have also not yet been fully calculated.

“It’s over a billion dollars of damage, when you look at the damage plus what we need to do going forward with resiliency hubs, the harbor has to be fortified,” Green said.

State officials also outlined programs and grants available to affected residents and businesses, covering home repairs, rental and food assistance, and business losses.

“We have grown from 40 to 83 disaster case managers statewide, and that is with the cooperation and collaboration of our community-based organizations,” said state Department of Human Services director Joseph Campos. “We have 5000 households that applied, 1300 recovered, so that we were able to match them with their unmet needs.”

The state spent nearly $230 million on transportation repairs, more than half on highways from the March Kona Lows alone.

Those back to back systems affected 463 homes and caused $45 million dollars in public infrastructure damage, across Maui, Hawaii Island and Oahu.

The May earthquake on the Big Island affected 313 homes and water catchments in rural areas. Residents have until November 1st to apply for aid, including emergency water relief.

“They can’t survive without those water tanks. Hundreds of them have been damaged, and those will be eligible for grants,” Green said.

In August, Hurricane Lala caused $67 million in public damage and affected 267 properties, mostly on Hawaii Island. Punaluu was among the areas hardest hit.

“We’re gonna build a small village there to help people who otherwise, who are elderly who will not have homes for a long time,” Green said.

The historic Naalehu Cemetery was destroyed and 38 public schools reported $12.5 million in damages so far.

Military support and Hawaii National Guard servicemembers were critical for hard to reach areas.

“We actually actually walk through the neighborhoods, knock on doors, and talk to people, offer some emotional support,” said state adjutant general Major General Stephen Logan.

“I could use federal assets and we use C-17s to fly in 144,000 pounds of heavy machinery. Which didn’t prove valuable just for Lala, but of course the next chapter of this story, which was Hurricane Lowell,” Green said.

That storm in September racked up about $100 million in public damage so far with 247 homes impacted.

Kauai and Niihau bore the brunt of Lowell, with power outages impacting airport operations.

“Governor put in his budget $9 million to add to get additional generators throughout the state. And that’s for airports and our harbors to ensure that we have these backup generators in those areas that we don’t lose power,” said state transportation director Ed Sniffen.

About $319 million will be used for projects to modernize the state Emergency Operations Center, research an alternative deep sea port and build resiliency hubs.

Governor Green says disaster declarations will bring in federal funding, but it could take months to kick in.

If you’re worried these costs will be passed to taxpayers, the governor says whatever is not covered by the federal government or insurance will come out of the state’s reserves which has about $1.7 billion, a rainy day fund that was created to weather these kinds of storms.