This week, State and federal emergency management workers will travel to Hawai‘i island to inspect damages and impacts caused by the recent Mauna Loa eruption.

The team of inspectors from the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will examine the damage and impact sustained to the Mauna Loa Observatory Road and other infrastructure that were overrun by lava during the eruption that began on Nov. 27 and continued through Dec. 13.

The inspection is part of a Joint Preliminary Damage Assessment which will be used to determine whether the costs incurred from damages, impacts, and emergency protective measures qualify for federal funding assistance through FEMA.

The assessment will be presented to Governor Josh Green for review as he decides whether to request a federal disaster declaration to help Hawai‘i recover from the eruption’s effects. If such a declaration were to be sought and approved, most of the eligible expenses incurred would qualify for federal reimbursement, with local funding reduced to about 25 percent of the total.

The eruption was the first at Mauna Loa in 38 years, the longest pause between eruptions in modern history.

The primary lava flow from this most recent eruption reached within 1.7 miles of the Daniel K. Inouye Highway before the molten rock broke out at a higher elevation and began to decline in volume. Because it created fissures along the sparsely populated and gentle slopes below the Northeast Rift Zone, it posed little threat to life or property.

 

Photo credit: New West Broadcasting