The County of Hawai‘i is conducting a survey of residents whose homes were affected by the 2018 Kīlauea eruption.

Kīlauea Recovery Housing Survey completion will help the County get a sense of  how households are weighing their options regarding recovery.  It will also help the County establish strategies to serve residents with the Buyout Program, provide additional housing program information and direct other recovery efforts, such as restoration of infrastructure.

According to a press release from the County of Hawaiʻi Planning Department, the Buyout application process is anticipated to start around April 30. “We expect that the Buyout Program will go a long way to help residents find stable housing and recover economically as we regularly hear from people who were displaced and are looking for this kind of assistance,” said Douglas Le, the County’s disaster recovery officer. “We also understand that impacts and needs vary across households, and this survey will help the County ensure it spends recovery funding effectively.”

The four-month-long Kīlauea eruption destroyed 612 homes, including 294 primary residences. The Buyout Program will prioritize impacted properties that served as primary residences and applicants who are low- to moderate-income.

The Buyout Program is funded by an $83.84 million Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) allocation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In January, HUD allocated an additional $23.72 million CDBG-DR grant to the County.