(BIVN) – A community meeting will be held in South Kona on Thursday, following the damaging May 22nd earthquake.
The May 28th meeting will be held at Sgt. Rodney J.T. Yano Memorial Hall in Captain Cook from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
According to the County of Hawaiʻi:
The meeting is an opportunity for residents to hear updates from County officials as well as connect with nonprofit organizations that are responding to community needs following the 6.0-magnitude earthquake that occurred Friday evening near Hōnaunau-Nāpōʻopoʻo.
“Following last week’s earthquake, our priority remains supporting our community and making sure residents can get back on their feet,” said Mayor Kimo Alameda. “We encourage residents to join our team to share their needs and get connected to our nonprofit partners.”
The County will be represented by Civil Defense, South Kona CERT Team, Department of Public Works, Department of Water Supply, and Department of Parks and Recreation. Nonprofit partners will be represented by Vibrant Hawaiʻi and the American Red Cross.
Mayor Alameda signed an emergency proclamation on Wednesday covering the districts of North Kona, South Kona and Kaʻū. The proclamation allows the County to streamline its response and coordinate resources following the damaging temblor.
Civil Defense continues to urge residents and businesses to report damage to their properties from the earthquake by visiting bit.ly/CDDisasterRecovery or by calling Civil Defense at (808) 935-0031.
Damage reports will assist the County with seeking state or federal disaster assistance as well as identify priorities and focus resources if assistance becomes available.
As of Wednesday, Civil Defense had received more than 200 damage reports. Of those, eight homes are considered destroyed and another 85 properties are listed as sustaining major damage.
Residents in need immediate assistance – such as food, clothing, debris removal, or shelter – are asked to complete a Request for Assistance through Vibrant Hawaiʻi at bit.ly/vh-rfa or by calling Civil Defense at (808) 935-0031.
According to the Mayor’s emergency proclamation, the County received “approximately two hundred seven (207) damage reports concentrated in the Districts of Kaʻū, North Kona, and South Kona, including substantial damage to residential structures and to residential, commercial, and agricultural water catchment systems upon which residents and businesses in these districts rely for potable and non-potable water.” The proclamation added that “the loss of water catchment capacity may create an immediate need to obtain, transport, and stage temporary water distribution for residents and businesses whose private water systems were damaged by the earthquake, and existing County resources and normal government processes may not sufficiently address this need in the time required to protect public health, safety, and welfare”.
In the proclamation, the County said it has also “sustained earthquake damage to its facilities, including the Kealakehe Police Station in North Kona, the Waiea Transfer Station in South Kona, and Kona Scenic Park and Clarence Lum Won Park in North Kona, each of which requires engineering assessment, repair, or continued public-safety measures”.
“The scope and severity of damage to private residential structures, County facilities, and water systems across the Districts of Kaʻū, North Kona, and South Kona is such that recovery is likely to exceed the capabilities of the County acting alone,” the proclamation stated, “and may require assistance from other counties, the State, the federal government, or private entities to aid the County and its affected residents and businesses”.
