FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell on Monday announced the agency is activating two programs providing shelter and funding for individual households following wildfires in Hawaii that have thus far left at least 96 people dead – with the toll expected to rise.
Criswell appeared virtually from the ground in Hawaii – where she has been since Saturday – at a White House press briefing Monday to make the announcement and update reporters on the federal government’s actions to provide relief.
Through the activation of the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program, FEMA will pay for those displaced from their homes to stay in pre-identified hotels or motels while they figure out a housing plan.
It will also provide one-time payments of $700 to eligible households through the Critical Needs Assistance program. Criswell noted this can be used for food, water, first aid, medical supplies or other critical needs.
“We're also focused on getting funds into people's hands so we can help with some of their critical, urgent needs,” she said.
Criswell said FEMA currently has over 300 personnel on the ground and the agency’s office in the state allowed it to “integrate immediately” with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green’s team as the fires arrived.
“It was through that coordination that we were able to move our initial urban search and rescue teams very quickly to get into the area and begin the process,” she added.
As the officials learned “what the extent of this search and recovery mission is going to look like,” Criswell said, FEMA has sent more personnel and cadaver dogs.
“This is a really complicated situation. The dogs can only work so long because of how hot the temperatures are,” Criswell said, adding she does not want to estimate how long the search effort will take.
“It is extremely hazardous. There are structures that are partially standing that engineers have to clear first to make sure it's safe for the search and rescue teams to go into, make sure it's safe for the dogs to go into.”
FEMA Director of Operations Division Jeremy Greenberg told Spectrum News in an interview on Monday that FEMA has more than 60 people on the ground focusing specifically on intake registration and that more disaster recovery centers will be established in the coming days.
At Monday’s briefing, the White House, as well as Criswell emphasized a “whole of government approach,” with Criswell saying she has been in “continuous communication with the president.”
White House press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre noted President Joe Biden was briefed by Criswell twice on Sunday and has spoken twice with Gov. Green in “recent days.”
On Sunday while on a bike ride in Rehoboth Beach where Biden has a vacation house, the president responded “we're looking at it” when asked by reporters whether or not he would visit the state.
Jean-Pierre on Monday said she did not have an update on a potential Hawaii trip. When asked about the topic, Criswell said she is focused on the search effort and not disrupting operations.
“The President has given me the space to make sure I'm bringing in all of the appropriate federal personnel and resources to do that,” she said.
Some Republicans have criticized Biden spending time on Rehoboth Beach in Delaware over the weekend amid the situation in Maui. When pressed Monday by a reporter about the optics of Biden's beach trip amid the devastation in Hawaii, Jean-Pierre pointed to the president signing a major disaster declaration and ordering all available federal resources to help with the response.
“Gov. Green described this as having provided amazing support for recovery,” Jean-Pierre said.