Some homeowners hit hard by the recent storms were required to have flood insurance – which will help them recover.
In June, flood zones will change, shifting hundreds of Oahu homes out of those higher risk zones.
But 10 times the amount of homeowners will then find themselves in a flood zone.
Floods wash in more than just water to homes.
“Bio-contaminants that need to be removed, cleaned up, disinfected, and ultimately, everything that the floods actually touch is gone. It needs to be removed and thrown away, or properly cleaned and disinfected,” said Jaydon Cuesta, with Belfour Property Restoration.
Then homes have to be repaired. All that work can be costly, averaging about $800 a day, according to Jaydon.
“The quick ones are anywhere from three to five days, just because the areas aren’t as big. But we also have these larger projects that are still going on, and it’s a week and a half time frame,” added Cuesta.
Those costs can be covered by flood insurance, but there is a problem for a number of Hawaii homeowners.
“Most people don’t know that they don’t have flood insurance – that their homeowners policy doesn’t cover flood,” said Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole.
Homeowners policies cover rain that comes down, not waters that come up — during a flood.
And soon more Oahu homeowners will be required to have it because of a change to national flood maps.
“Over 4,000 homes on Oahu are going to suddenly be in flood zones that weren’t originally in flood zones. And they’re going to require that additional flood insurance,” said Rep. Scot Matayoshi.
“What we’re seeing unfortunately through the Kona low period is that people don’t know whether or not they’re required to have flood insurance. They don’t know what is covered by flood insurance. You need to know what is covered, what is not covered, and the basic dynamics of what flood insurance is. So what we’re doing is encouraging people to talk within their insurance agents,” said State Insurance Commissioner Scott Saiki.
You can’t rush out and get flood insurance ahead of an approaching storm, so it is too late to sign up for insurance for the wetter weather expected this week.
If you would like to check out the new flood zone map, go to: