Media release | Hawaii County Office of the Mayor

STATE CIVIL DEFENSE TO OPEN DISASTER ASSISTANCE RECOVERY CENTER TO COPE WITH KONA TSUNAMI DAMAGE

Hawai‘i State Civil Defense will establish a Community Disaster Assistance and Recovery Center (DARC) at Old Kona Airport Events Pavilion Tuesday, March 29 and Wednesday, March 30 to offer assistance to people affected by the tsunami.

The center will be staffed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. by state, county and private sector crews ready to provide help and information to residents and businesses affected by the March 11 disaster.

“I want to thank State Civil Defense for moving quickly to establish this center to assist people who suffered damage in the tsunami,” said Mayor Billy Kenoi. “This cooperative government and private-sector effort will efficiently deliver the information and assistance that our residents need for the most rapid recovery possible.”

The County will provide representatives from the Office of the Mayor in Kona, the Department of Environmental Management and the Department of Public Works. A variety of state agencies have also been asked to attend, along with private organizations such as American Red Cross and Catholic Charities Hawai‘i.

State Civil Defense officials are contacting all of the people who called Aloha United Way’s 2-1-1 hotline for assistance in connection with the tsunami to invite them to visit the Disaster Assistance Recovery Center for additional information and assistance.

Mayor Kenoi and Gov. Neil Abercrombie have issued emergency proclamations in connection with the tsunami, and Gov. Abercrombie has requested that President Obama issue a presidential disaster declaration.

The last state-county Disaster Assistance Recovery Center established in Kailua-Kona was set up about two weeks after the Kiholo earthquake in 2006