If you are in immediate danger, need rescue, see a downed power line, or have a medical emergency, call 911. Do not use a county information line or social-media message in place of 911. If you smell gas, use a phone away from the odor and follow Hawaiʻi Gas's safety instructions; its emergency number is (808) 526-0066. Its storm notice also directs people who detect a gas leak to call 911 or that emergency line.

For food, shelter, financial-assistance referrals, disability services, childcare, kūpuna support, or other non-emergency needs, call 211. Aloha United Way 211 is Hawaiʻi's statewide social-services helpline and a disaster-response partner. The service is free and confidential.

Then use the emergency-management agency for the county where you are physically located. County officials—not a statewide news headline—will tell you when roads, neighborhoods, shelters, water systems, and damaged areas are safe.

• Hawaiʻi Island — Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense: current county alerts and maps; Lala damage report and recovery page; phone (808) 935-0031.
• Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, and Kahoʻolawe — Maui Emergency Management Agency: current alerts and road closures; private-property storm damage report; phone (808) 270-7285.
• Oʻahu — Honolulu Department of Emergency Management: City storm-recovery information and Lala damage report; phone (808) 723-8960.
• Kauaʻi and Niʻihau — Kauaʻi Emergency Management Agency: official emergency information; residential damage report; business, farm, or ranch damage report; phone (808) 241-1800.

Hawaiʻi Island help: Use the HIEMA Lala recovery hub and county recovery page for shelter, distribution-site, and assistance instructions. Confirm the location and operating time before traveling; an old shelter listing is not proof that it is still open. Call 911 for immediate danger.

Damage reports help officials document impacts, prioritize resources, and support requests for future assistance. They are not applications for FEMA household aid, and submitting one does not guarantee payment. Shelter status, distribution sites, and county instructions can change quickly, so use the live HIEMA and county pages rather than a screenshot or copied list.

A lull in wind or rain is not an all-clear. Wait for your county or first responders to say the area is safe. Do not drive around to inspect damage; blocked roads need to remain open for emergency crews.

Once officials allow you back, stop outside and look for a shifted foundation, leaning walls, roof failure, standing water near electrical equipment, downed lines, fire, or the smell of gas. If you see any of those, stay out and call 911 or the appropriate utility. The Hawaiʻi Department of Health's post-flood safety guidance says not to re-enter a flooded building until electricity is shut off, gas lines are secured, and the structure has been deemed safe.

If the building is safe enough to enter, use this order:

1. Photograph and record before moving anything. Take wide photos of every room and exterior wall, then close-ups of individual damage. Record video, serial numbers, and a written inventory.
2. Call your insurer. Ask for a claim number, the adjuster's next step, what you may discard, and whether your policy includes temporary housing or additional living expenses.
3. Prevent additional damage only when it is safe. Cover a broken window or leaking roof if you can do so without climbing into wind, water, electrical, or structural hazards. Save every receipt.
4. Wait on permanent repairs. The state Insurance Division advises keeping damaged property for inspection and avoiding permanent repairs until the insurer has inspected the damage and agreed on repair costs.

The complete state checklist is on the Hawaiʻi Insurance Division's hurricane guidance page.

Floodwater can contain sewage, fuel, sharp debris, and disease-causing organisms. Keep children and pets out. If you must clean after officials have declared the structure safe, the Hawaiʻi Department of Health recommends waterproof boots, heavy gloves, eye protection, long clothing, and an N95 mask for particles and mold. Wash exposed skin with soap and clean water, cover wounds, and seek medical care for redness, swelling, drainage, fever, breathing trouble, persistent vomiting, or diarrhea after exposure.

Do not mix bleach with ammonia or other cleaning products. That can create toxic gas. Materials that absorbed floodwater and cannot be safely washed and disinfected may need to be discarded, but document them for insurance first whenever health and safety allow.

Power outages create a separate food-safety clock. Hawaiʻi DOH says refrigerated food is generally safe for less than four hours without power. An unopened full freezer can hold temperature for about 48 hours; an unopened half-full freezer for about 24 hours. Discard food that touched floodwater, and never taste food to decide whether it is safe. See the state's multilingual flood cleanup, mold, food, disease, and mental-health resources for the complete guidance.

Start an insurance claim as soon as you can safely document the loss. The Hawaiʻi Insurance Division notes that a standard homeowners policy does not cover flood damage, while wind and other losses depend on the language and deductibles in your specific policies. FEMA says National Flood Insurance Program claims do not require a disaster declaration. Ask each carrier what coverage applies rather than assuming that "hurricane damage" falls under one policy.

A state or county emergency proclamation does not by itself open FEMA payments to households. USAGov explains how to find federal disaster assistance. Check the official application process for your address, disaster, and type of loss rather than relying on an older declaration-status summary.

Do not file Lala damage under an older Hawaiʻi disaster number. Monitor DisasterAssistance.gov, HIEMA, and your county. If an application opens, use only the official government site or FEMA's published phone number. HawaiiGuide will add the declaration number, eligible counties, deadline, and application steps here after they are official.

Arriving in the next 24 to 72 hours: do not treat returning utility service or an open airport as a statewide all-clear. Start with your airline and lodging, then check the current storm page, Travel Alerts, and the county for the exact island and route you will use. Ask whether your lodging has power, water, safe road access, and normal check-in. Use the current official forecast and storm page—not an older Lala recovery snapshot—to make new weather decisions.

Keep ocean and stream plans flexible. An earlier Brown Water Advisory cancellation does not establish today's water quality. Avoid brown, murky, or cloudy water and nearby runoff, and use the Hawaiʻi Department of Health water-quality portal plus lifeguard and beach signs before swimming.

Arriving in three to seven days: confirm plans with your airline and lodging and follow local authorities' travel guidance. Keep a same-island backup, but do not move an activity into another closed or restricted area. Check Travel Alerts and Trail Status for the exact place. An earlier road or park reopening may have been superseded by a later storm.

Arriving in one to three weeks: review cancellation deadlines and preserve refundable options where practical. Reconfirm your lodging, flights, and planned activities, and follow local authorities' guidance on whether to visit. Check each major park, trail, ocean tour, and long rural drive again before using it. A confirmed booking does not override a closure.

Keep a single folder of screenshots, emails, receipts, and names from every airline, hotel, vacation rental, tour operator, rental-car company, and insurer. Ask each provider to state a cancellation, credit, or rebooking decision in writing. If you bought travel insurance or have card-provided trip protections, contact that administrator before making a large replacement booking unless immediate safety requires otherwise; coverage and documentation rules vary by policy.

The Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaiʻi and its neighbor-island visitor programs support travelers facing crime or other serious adversity. The current Visitor Aloha Society contact page lists:

• Oʻahu: (808) 926-8274
• East Hawaiʻi Island: (808) 756-1472
• West Hawaiʻi Island: (808) 756-0785
• Maui County: (808) 244-3530
• Kauaʻi: (808) 482-0111

These visitor programs can help with guidance, referrals, and logistics when resources are available. They are not emergency dispatch. Call 911 for immediate danger.

Disaster fraud begins before debris is cleared. Do not let urgency hand control of your insurance claim or home to someone who appeared at the door.

• Get a written scope, materials list, timeline, total price, and payment schedule.
• Verify the contractor's Hawaiʻi license and insurance. Get more than one bid when conditions allow.
• Do not pay the full amount before work is complete, and be cautious with large upfront demands.
• Do not sign an assignment of insurance benefits or authorization you do not understand.
• An insurance adjuster assesses damage and a claim; a contractor performs repairs. Treat them as separate jobs.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs' disaster-fraud guidance explains how to check licensing and report suspected unlicensed activity. Use the Regulated Industries Complaints Office's current contact page to report a concern.

Official recovery information usually arrives in layers. Use the county and HIEMA pages above to check damage-reporting and assistance instructions. Before applying to any relief program, verify its administrator, eligible area, deadline, and whether applications are actually open.

We will keep those categories separate. A damage survey is not an application for money. Public Assistance for government infrastructure is not Individual Assistance for a household. A relief fund announcement is not proof that applications are open. Each link added here will name the administering agency, eligible area, deadline, and what the form actually does.

If this event is taking a toll emotionally, call or text 988 for the Hawaiʻi CARES crisis line. If you need practical non-emergency help and do not know which agency owns the problem, start with 211.