Beginning April 30, the County of Hawai’i will begin accepting applications for Phase 1 of the Kīlauea Disaster Recovery Voluntary Housing Buyout Program (VHBP), which deals with primary resident properties damaged by the 2018 Kilauea eruption.
A total of three phases of applications will be available for residents, including those in secondary residences and undeveloped properties, through the end of July 2022. Phase 1 applications will be accepted until Friday, July 30.
“The 2018 eruption upended the lives of lower Puna residents, and many who lost a home are still needing help with finding secure, permanent housing,” Douglas Le, the county’s Kīlauea disaster recovery officer, said, as reported by Big Island Now. “This federally funded program will help them get back on their feet and address an urgent need following the disaster while reducing risks from future eruptions.”
According to the Kilauea Eruption Recovery webpage, the budget for the buyout program totals $78 million and offers will be based on the pre-disaster (2017) appraised total market value up to $230,000.
“This allocation may be increased or decreased based on the demand for the program with amendment to the Action Plan and approval by the County Housing Agency and HUD,” the webpage said.
Other funds will be available though the House Relocation Services Program (HRPS), also being funded by the CDBG-DR grant to give assistance to residents displaced by the eruption with the same application start date of Friday, April 30.
“The VHBP is funded with an allocation of $83.84 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program,” Big Island Now reported.
To be eligible for the funding or buyout program, a home or resident must have been directly impacted by the disaster either by inundation or isolation, damage due to fires or lava or secondary effects of volcanic activity including heat or gases, the Kilauea Eruption Recovery webpage said.
Phase 2 of the buyout program will begin taking applications from Monday, Nov. 1 until Jan. 31, 2022 and will be available to those homes damaged that were secondary residences. Phase 3 will take applications for undeveloped properties from May 2, 2022 through July 29, 2022, Big Island Now reported.
The four-month-long eruption destroyed 723 structures, including 612 homes. Of those homes, 294 were primary residences, the Kilauea Eruption Recovery webpage stated.
To apply for any of the phases, or for the HRPS program, visit the Kilauea Eruption Recovery webpage and click on the “Application Process” tab for details.
