(BIVN) – After losing his Vacationland home the night before in the lava flow, Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim spoke to the public at the weekly meeting in Pahoa about the ongoing eruption.

Kim said he purchased the home in 1971. “I borrowed $5,000 to buy it. Sounds like nothing now, but it was all I had,” Kim told the crowd, “because I wanted to be next to the Wai’ōpae Tidepools.”

Just before speaking, Kim confirmed the Wai’ōpae pools were still intact, although very little else remains in the devastated Vacatonland area of Kapoho.

Following the lava flows that destroyed hundreds of homes in Kapoho, Kim said the county now believes it meets the threshold for Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance. Much of Tuesday’s meeting focused on moving evacuees from the shelter to temporary housing, and eventually permanent housing.

Mayor Kim has another home in Hilo.