Ige extends disaster emergency relief period

LIHUE — Emergency relief from the state to address damage done by the April floods will be available for at least two more months.

Governor David Ige signed a supplementary proclamation Friday to extend the disaster emergency relief period until Feb. 12, as infrastructure repairs — delayed by persistent heavy rains, mudslides and coastal erosion — continue, now eight months after the initial flood.

Friday’s proclamation says conditions giving rise to the emergency continue and are “adversely impacting efforts to repair, reconstruct, improve, and otherwise perform work on various roadways, bridges, infrastructure, and streams.”

This marks the fifth 60-day extension granted by Ige since declaring a state of emergency for the County of Kauai on April 15 in the wake of unprecedented flooding and a series of landslides on Kuhio Highway.

Former Mayor Bernard Carvalho issued similar emergency proclamations and extensions at the county level. Most recently, in November, Carvalho extended the period of disaster relief through the beginning of January and issued a statement announcing his intention to prolong emergency rules and relief efforts as long as necessary.

“It is my intention to continue this emergency rule – which limits access to residents and authorized vehicles only – until the highway is deemed safe for normal travel,” Carvalho said in a Nov. 5 statement. “It is also my intention to continue to extend this emergency proclamation until all county-repairs are completed.”