Oahu roofers, hardware stores inundated with customers ahead of Tropical Storm Moke

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Roofers are racing to repair damage from last weekend’s storm as another round of weather approaches.

Read more Maui family displaced after Hurricane Lala destroys multi-generational home

Mike Mazzone with Statewide General Contracting and Construction says his crews are getting 10 to 12 calls a day from people looking to get their roofs prepared.

“All week we’ve been getting calls about roofs coming out and get them prepared. And then now once the news came out that there’s another storm coming in this weekend, it’s like emergency. Everybody wants their roof done now,” Mazzone said.

With demand so high, Mazzone says some customers are having to settle for temporary repairs.

“We got an e-mail and say our roof needs repair. We know there’s another storm coming in. Our office got damaged from the last storm and they needed to get a temporary fix on there because everyone’s too busy to actually do a proper roofing job,” Mazzone said.

The preparation is also showing up at Hardware Hawaii, where salesperson Francis Fukushima says customers are buying plywood, lumber, two-by-fours and storm panels.

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“I’ve seen a lot of people buying plywood, lumber, two by fours, a lot of storm panels that we’re standing here right now. I just had the customer buy a bunch of them just for her unit,” Fukushima said.

With another system expected to bring heavy rain, Fukushima says flood bags are also getting attention.

“The best option would be you can either get something like this to stop water from entering anywhere. Concrete, not too sure because you would have to take it back out again. Get rid of the concrete. And yeah, and this is compactable. You can fold it back up, store it away.”

The City and County of Honolulu has waived permit fees and streamlined emergency repairs for properties impacted by Tropical Storm Lala.

Residents with roof or structural damage can self-report property impacts through the Honolulu Damage Assessment Form or contact the city’s nonemergency information line at 808-723-8960.

Read more First Alert Forecast: Tropical Storm Moke should stay south of us