The federal government has agreed to cover most of the cost to repair damage to public facilities in Hawaii caused by Hurricane Lala in August and Hurricane Lowell in September.

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The federal government has agreed to cover most of the cost to repair damage to public facilities in Hawaii caused by Hurricane Lala in August and Hurricane Lowell in September.

Under the decision approved by President Donald Trump and announced by FEMA on Thursday, FEMA is expected to pay for at least 75% of recovery expenses shouldered by the state and counties to fix an estimated $200 million in damage done to public facilities by the two storms.

“We will get at least a 75%-25% split on the big damage that we had from those storms,” Gov. Josh Green said in a statement after FEMA’s announcement. “We fought hard for that and I’m grateful for the approvals because people around the state have worked very hard toward recovery from our multiple disasters this year. … These declarations ensure that federal disaster recovery dollars can begin flowing to Hawaii and that critical resources are being made available to support affected communities.”

Green requested what are called major disaster declarations, which allow FEMA to help pay for such things as debris removal as well as restoration and mitigation of disaster-damaged public facilities and infrastructure, on Sept. 9 for both Lala and Lowell. This FEMA “public assistance” funding also can be awarded to certain private nonprofit organizations. It does not include direct assistance for individuals or households.

Hawaii’s four representatives in Congress on Sept. 13 urged Trump to approve the major disaster declarations for Lala and Lowell.

“Swift approval of these requests would ensure urgently needed aid to Hawaii residents who have been impacted by these disasters,” said the letter from U.S. Sens. Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono along with U.S. Reps. Ed Case and Jill Tokuda.

On Thursday, Schatz (D, Hawaii) expressed appreciation for the approval.

“Recovering from back-to-back hurricanes requires significant resources, and help is on the way,” he said in a statement. “I thank the president for approving these disaster declarations which will unlock federal resources and help our state and county governments rebuild.”

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For Lala, which affected Hawaii from Aug. 14 to 16, FEMA public assistance funding is available for recovery expenses on Oahu, Hawaii Island and Maui County. Green has estimated damage to public facilities from Lala at about $108 million.

For Lowell, which affected Hawaii from Sept. 6 to 9, FEMA public assistance funding is available for Kauai and Maui counties. Green has estimated damage to public facilities from Lowell at about $112 million.

Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami called the declaration for Lowell an important step forward for the island’s recovery.

“It brings federal support to help Kauai cover the cost of clearing debris and repairing the roads, bridges, and public facilities our community depends on,” he said.

FEMA said additional areas could be designated later if damage assessments warrant it, and that additional designations could be made later based on results of damage assessments.

Money from FEMA does not immediately flow to the state with the approval granted Thursday, and can take time to be approved and delivered. In some instances, FEMA aid is used to reimburse the state for already expended recovery costs.

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