Maui storm victims hope federal aid from Lala comes soon

News admin September 22, 2026 0 Comments

Maui storm victims hope federal aid from Lala comes soon

HAIKU (HawaiiNewsNow) – State officials said they are still waiting for a response from the White House on whether President Trump will approve a Major Disaster Declaration after Tropical Storm Lala caused significant damage in Hawaii.

Most of the destruction was on Hawaii Island, but storm victims on Maui hope they won’t be forgotten.

Home and nonprofit both hit

For the Oberg family, it was a double whammy. Lala flooded their home and displaced a nonprofit that operates out of their home.

“I’m standing where a bathtub used to be,” said Jennifer Oberg.

It has been more than one month since heavy rain from Lala flooded the Oberg family home in Haiku, causing more than $100,000 in damage.

“A wall of water just came down the hill and came through the foundation and ran down the stairs,” Oberg said. “It sounded like a waterfall, and I came running downstairs and I was standing in two inches of water and could hear this water running down the stairs and came in to the downstairs where the sewing studio is, and it was just totally flooded.”

Nonprofit disrupted

The lower level of Jennifer’s home is where she runs her organization, The Sewing Hui, which she started in 2020 during the pandemic making medical-grade masks for health care providers.

Residents and visitors would gather there to volunteer their time sewing costumes for plays, Christmas stockings for keiki and walker bags for kupuna.

“Oh, I was horrified. Just horrified,” Oberg said. “Very sad, frustrated, angry, all the things you go through when you see something like that. You just can’t believe it’s happening.”

Awaiting federal aid

A friend started a GoFundMe page for the Oberg family, which was enough to strip out everything that was water damaged, but it’s not enough to rebuild.

“It’s enough to just basically get us back to ground zero,” Oberg said.

They have no flood insurance, so they are hoping federal aid comes soon.

“Please don’t forget us on Maui. I know that our friends on the Big Island and Kauai have gone through so much and are much worse than we’re doing. But I know there are some of us on Maui that still need help,” Oberg said.

Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) Communications Director Kīele Amundson said the President approved Governor Green’s request for a federal emergency declaration which provides limited federal support for immediate life-safety and emergency protective measures.

Amundson also said a subsequent Major Disaster Declaration requires a separate federal determination, generally informed by damage assessments, which was submitted on Sept 9th.

She said if approved, it could authorize broader and longer-term recovery assistance based on the designated areas and programs.