Hawaiʻi County is getting more than $1.9 million from FEMA to permanently repair the Haokea Place waterline, which was damaged by Kona Low weather systems. The federal agency also approved nearly $113,000 in state disaster unemployment services tied to the Kona earthquake. Both awards landed as part of a larger disaster funding package worth more than $5.4 million spread across Hawaiʻi, Arizona, Nevada and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
The Haokea Place waterline repair money comes through FEMA's Public Assistance program, according to Maui Now. That program is the agency's standard channel for funding eligible disaster-related work, which can include repairs to public infrastructure and buildings, road repairs, and emergency protective measures, per the same outlet's report.
The nearly $113,000 state award is earmarked differently. It falls under FEMA's Individual Assistance program and will support Disaster Unemployment Assistance services connected to what the release identified as the Kona earthquake, the Maui Now report notes.
A Quake That Still Echoes Through Recovery Budgets
The earthquake referenced in this latest funding round struck months ago. A magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit Hawaiʻi's Kona region on May 22, 2026, according to Big Island Video News. That event, paired with separate Kona Low storm systems that damaged the Haokea Place waterline, has kept federal recovery dollars flowing into Hawaiʻi County well into the fall.
On the unemployment side, Hawaiʻi's Department of Defense has said workers, business owners and others may be eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance if they became unemployed or had their work hours reduced or interrupted because of the May 22 earthquake, according to the state's earthquake recovery page. Disaster Unemployment Assistance itself is administered by state unemployment-insurance agencies acting as agents of the federal government whenever a disaster declaration includes individual assistance and DUA, per the Hawaiʻi Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.
How the Money Spreads Beyond the Big Island
The Haokea Place and unemployment awards are just two pieces of the broader $5.4 million package. In the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation received more than $1 million for emergency protective measures after Super Typhoon Sinlaku, the Maui Now report states. The Commonwealth also received nearly $280,000 for generators and emergency power at the Tinian Department of Fire and EMS Fire Station.
Nevada's share of the package went toward wildfire response rather than water or storm damage. The Nevada Division of Forestry received more than $170,000 for firefighting activities tied to the Marie Fire, the same report notes. Each award reflects a different disaster and a different FEMA program, but all were bundled into the same funding announcement covering four jurisdictions.
Other Hawaiʻi Projects in the Pipeline
The Haokea Place waterline is not the only Hawaiʻi County infrastructure project drawing federal dollars this fall. Hawaiʻi is separately set to receive more than $1.8 million through FEMA's Public Assistance program for permanent repairs to the Nāʻālehu Flood Channel, according to KHON2. Together, the waterline and flood channel repairs point to a pattern of storm and quake damage across the island that is still working its way through federal disaster accounting months after the events themselves.
