HONOLULU, September 23 — Gov. Josh Green stood before reporters at the State Capitol on Wednesday and asked Hawaiʻi lawmakers for $300 million out of the state’s $1.7 billion rainy day fund, with another storm already churning toward the islands. The request is the state’s answer to a brutal run of disasters. Since March, Hawaiʻi has absorbed two Kona low storms, two hurricanes and an earthquake.
Hurricane Lala hit in August. Hurricane Lowell struck Kauaʻi and Niʻihau just last week.
The administration counts 1,290 homes affected across the disasters — 74 destroyed, 451 with major damage, 514 with minor damage and 251 “otherwise affected.” Several fatalities have been linked to the storms. Green put the state’s total recovery and resilience needs at $1 billion, though he cautioned the figure is preliminary and could shift as new damage assessments come in and federal eligibility is sorted out. Of that, the administration has identified $686 million in current damage and recovery costs.
Future resilience and mitigation projects are expected to total $319 million.
Where the money comes from
The $300 million would sit on top of $170 million the Legislature already appropriated for storm assistance earlier this year. Beyond the federal government, state insurance and the Legislature, Green said additional appropriations could come from revenue from the Green Fee. He said the state has so far benefited from federal assistance while other requests remain pending, and he left the door open to asking lawmakers for more.
The hurricane season, driven by the Super El Niño, does not end until the end of November. The administration’s biennial budget goes to the Legislature in mid-December.
Green tied the ask to his own household. “As Jamie and I were talking about this morning, it has rained, and those rainy day funds will be utilized significantly with the partners that I have in the Legislature,” he said. “I’m grateful to them.
I’m grateful that they are on board with that. So we will take hundreds of millions of dollars from the rainy day fund, whatever we don’t have in support from the federal government and the dollars that we’ve already gotten, will be able to cover these disasters.”
Nolo bears down
Tropical Storm Nolo is forecast to dump up to 30 inches of rain on the Big Island, still recovering from Hurricane Lala and the May earthquake. Nolo is expected to reach major hurricane status in the coming days and pass just south of Hawaiʻi island sometime Saturday. The path remains uncertain.
“You need to take action now,” said John Bravender, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “Everybody across the state needs to pay attention to this and be ready in case this forecast does change.” Hawaiʻi Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Stephen Logan added, “This seems like it’s going to be a very strong hurricane.
Stay tuned to your weather experts at the National Weather Service, your local media, and your county emergency management agency.” He urged residents and visitors to visit ready.hawaii.gov. By Wednesday evening, the closures were stacking up. The Department of Education announced all Big Island schools will close Thursday and Friday, citing possible impacts on student transportation and campus safety. Maui County schools close Friday.
State courts on the two islands, plus Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi, will also be closed. State and county offices and University of Hawaiʻi campuses and facilities on Hawaiʻi island shut Thursday and Friday, with the same order applying to Maui County on Friday.
Much of the 90-minute press conference served as a damage and recovery update, with several state officials joining Green at the podium. The governor also floated two longer-range proposals. He said he would work with legislators and county officials to relocate the aging Emergency Operations Center in Diamond Head Crater on Oʻahu, with the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa campus and Wahiawā under consideration; the facilities could include a biosecurity hub.
And he wants a second deepwater port beyond Honolulu Harbor, which experts say is vulnerable to a hurricane or other catastrophe. Green suggested the Big Island, perhaps Hilo, the state’s second largest city. What to watch next: whether Nolo holds its forecast track south of the Big Island, how quickly federal requests move, and whether Green returns to the Legislature for more than the $300 million before the season closes at the end of November.
