A team of state and federal emergency management workers will travel to Hawaii Island this week to inspect damage and other impacts caused by the recent eruption of Mauna Loa.
The team of inspectors from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, or HI-EMA, and Federal Emergency Management Agency will examine the damage sustained to the Mauna Loa Observatory Road and other infrastructure that was overrun by lava from the eruption that began on Nov. 27 and continued through Dec. 13.
“The team will be working in consultation with Hawaii County personnel who managed the incident and had primary responsibility for protecting the people, property and infrastructure of the Big Island during the eruption,” Luke Meyers, HI-EMA administrator, said in a statement.
The county received support from the state through deployment of Hawaii National Guard personnel to assist with traffic control and security in the viewing area near the highway, and from HI-EMA team members assisting with work in the county’s Emergency Operations Center.
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 Gov. Josh Green for review as he decides whether to request a federal disaster declaration to help Hawaii 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% of the total.
The eruption was the first at Mauna Loa in 38 years, the longest pause between eruptions in modern history.