Criswell briefed reporters on Recovery Efforts and Emergency Response operations in maui. She talked about an upcoming visit by President Biden. She said the president , fema and the federal family will be there to support the people of hawaii as long as we are needed. First as the president said yesterday, we are praying for those who lost so much, lost loved ones, their community, their businesses, their households. We are incredibly thankful to the First Responders and be very brief firefighters who are on the frontline are dealing with a response and recovery effort. We announced the president and this lady will be traveling to why you on monday to meet with First Responders, survivors and federal, state and local officials. Since the onset of the horrific fires in maui, dozens of federal departments and agencies have been working with state and local partners on the ground to assess and provide resources and personnel support response on the ground. Last thursday, within hours of receiving they were west, receiving the request, the president signed a major disaster declaration for hawaii and spoke publicly about the tragic fires. With that, the president has been kept updated on a daily basis, with the governor and senators in hawaii, and the administrator has been giving him regular updates. And with that, the floor is yours. Ms. Criswell thank you. Good afternoon everybody. I did just finish rethink the president in the oval office to give him an update on the ongoing Recovery Efforts that are happening in hawaii. I will continue to provide him updates as we continue the response in support of the state of hawaii he had an opportunity to call the governor and let him know he has approved the request for 100 reimbursement for the emergency work that is being done for a period of 30 days within the first 120 days of the governors choosing. I will be traveling with the president on monday. I will work with him to better understand the impact that are happening. I know the people on the ground in hawaii and the governor mentioned this, will appreciate a visit from the president. Before i get an operational update, i want to take a minute to portray what i saw while i was on the ground earlier this week. The stories of survival, the heroic accounts of response, and the sense of community that i saw the island. While i was in one of the shelters, i met with one young boy, who was getting ready to go back to school but had lost everything. We worked with him to find clothes and a backpack, school supplies. To be able to be ready to go to school. Stories like these that let you know that this is more than just the visual impact of what we are seeing on television. More than the visual impact of the burned landscape. It is the level of devastation from the fire and the feeling of lost of loss from a culturally Rich Community that was palpable everywhere i went. While the people of hawaii are in morning, and while we mourn as a nation with them. I am filled with hope as they begin to take the steps that are needed to heal and recover. I want to commend the heroic First Responders. Many of whom lost their residences while they were battling the blaze and helping to support those that were fleeing to safety. It is important to remember that this is a very act of and dynamic active and dynamic situation and our searchandrescue teams are working closely to help account for those who are still missing. Given the conditions and the need for additional resources, we will have at least 40 canine search teams on the island, in addition to hundreds of search and rescue personnel with more on the way. We are working carefully to search the areas thoroughly and compassionately. This is a hard disaster. And this is a difficult search operation. Because of the conditions and fire debris, the dogs have to navigate the heat, deal with issues with their paws, and the docs require frequent rest. It is why we are sending in additional dogs. 30 specialists from the hhs mortuary teams are in maui and will be joined by the mortuary specialists from the department of defense. These experts are going to be able to help identify loved ones. I want to be honest with everyone. This is also going to be a long and hard recovery our federal, state and local partners are working around the clock to help all of those who have been impacted. From the beginning of this event, mind regional administrator has been on the ground and has been leaning forward to support those in need. As he always does, President Biden directed me to move quickly and push as many resources into the area so we could help people as soon as possible. Since the news first broke about the fire, i have been in constant communication with President Biden to provide him updates of the situation while i was on the ground and to inform him and his team of the support we are providing. I want everybody to know this, the president , fema and the entire federal family will be there to support the people of hawaii as long as we are needed. A couple of operational updates. Today, femas associated administration are both on the ground. We have mobilized millions of leaders litres of water and food. We have deployed hundreds of personnel with 600 already on the island. We have given out 2. 3 million in assistance to families and have approved over 1300 registrations for assistance. We launched our Transitional Sheltering Assistance Program and this will complement the states fire verrilli Housing Program for residents. We authorize critical needs assistance to make sure we are putting money in the hands of survivors. We also launched the joint task force to assist the state to ensure the Housing Assistance that survivors are eligible for will be seamless for the survivor and they do not have to figure out who they are supposed to call for help. I need all of your help, help us get the word out and encourage more people to apply for assistance. Please help us spread the word to residents of maui and encourage them to register for assistance with fema, with staff on the ground, our website, or calling our one 800 number. 18006213362. We opened our first disaster covering center. They are brick and mortar locations that have federal, state and nonprofit partners that will all be cold located where people can register for assistance and get support. This is an important first step in their Recovery Process. We are cognizant of the fact buyers have offended peoples lives and this is for Young Children of hawaii who are unable to return to school. Similar to the young boy that i talked to. As a grandmother and mother, my heart rakes thinking about heart breaks. Childrens Disaster Services has deployed two teams to provide care and a safe and reassuring presence in our shelters. I am certain this will bring ease and comfort to the parents that are coping with the gravity of the situation with devastating loss and want to provide stability for their families. The red cross continues to support staff in five shelters where food, water, hygiene kits and other essential resources are being provided. We are coordinating services so that anybody who leaves a shelter for a hotel or other place will be eligible to receive the same services being offered at the services our partners at hud are providing a 90 day moratorium on foreclosures of federal housing mortgages and home equity conversion mortgages. This is also another important step in the Recovery Process. Lastly, debris removal is going to be a critical aspect of recovery. We have mission assigned both epa and the army corps of engineers to start the process of debris collection and planning for removal. Were mindful, i stress this to my team everyday talk to them, that we need to continue to ensure we have a strong respect and awareness of the native hawaiian cultures and history during a response and Recovery Processes. I want the people of hawaii to hear from me, fema and the federal family are here to be with you, every step of the way. To close, to the people of hawaii, i promise you this. We will do everything we can, to continue to help you rebuild on the island, the island you call home. Together with our state, federal and volunteer probably nurse partners we will provide support as long as is necessary. The people of hawaii deserve a recovery that not only addresses their immediate needs but positions them as an example of resilience, strength and resolve. Thank you. I will take any questions. Reporter i heard what you said about the resources being brought. We keep interviewing survivor after survivor who says that either they did not see any government personnel or assistance for days or they still have not. How do you explain the disconnect between what they are saying and what you are saying about all the resources right there right now. Ms. Criswell this community is going through a traumatic event. We have personnel on the ground yearround and embedded in the state, soon as the fire started so we can continue to understand what resources were needed. The coast guard conducted 17 rescues that day and supported 40 additional rescues. They were there tuesday helping these people escape the flames that they were experiencing. We have staff in the shelters. I met with many of the individuals, they are right there. Our staff are walking and talking to people, helping them register for assistance. We have our voluntary agencies like the united way and American Red Cross. We know we need to get everybody. Theres people that are staying with family and friends, staying with residents in other parts of the island. Our teams will continue to go out into the community to make sure everyone who needs assistance will get it. The Disaster Recovery center, there will be one way that they have a focal point, they can get their questions answered and said of going to a shelter, which has been available. Caller fema takes reporter fema takes a backseat to things like this, why is it the small state, does hawaii have the staffing and expertise to lead a recovery effort of this magnitude . Ms. Jeanpierre we actually have ms. Criswell we have personnel to help maintain their capacity but we also recognize that this is a large event for them. They are a small state. They have asked for existence assistance, cal oes ascending one of their management teams to embed with maui management to give them the capacity and some of the relief they need and help develop the structure to maintain the longerterm response. Reporter the state of leadership of the recovery effort, will they put it to fema . Ms. Criswell we want to be able to support them and we will be able to support them throughout the Recovery Process. Reporter yesterday we heard from the president wh said he was hopingo to visit soon. An announcement was made today. He did not want to be disruptive. Can talk about what the president will see . What efforts are being undertaken to make sure the visit is not disrupting the efforts for the community . Ms. Criswell as i have been briefing the president , i explained to and the dynamics of the situation on the ground and the ability to make sure we give the space to our search and rescue teams, to be able to account for everybody missing. When the president travels he will bring hope and he will speak to the governor and states first lady and talk to survivors and hear their story. It is that level of hope that will be a positive impact for the community. Reporter there is a difficult debate happening among state local leaders about the role, about whether it should be ongoing, tourism, in the community as a relates to the economy. Does Administration Talk about whether continued tourism is potentially disruptive, especially for providing enough housing . Ms. Criswell i would defer you to the state for any actions they are going to take as a relates to tourism carried it does not affect our ability to support the state and it is not a factor we take into consideration. We will send resources and whatever the state needs. Reporter how many people have applied for federal disaster aid . Can you lay out the bear years people are facing due to the lack of internet, or lack of information . Ms. Criswell right now we have approved over 1300 registrations. I dont know what the total number of individuals are. One of the things i really need your help on, its not as much as lack of communication and cell phone capability, its lack of understanding whether they should or should not apply for federal aid. We want everyone in hawaii to know they should apply for federal assistance. We will have people going out into the communities, they will be at the drc. They should start that process and we can work with them to start their road to recovery. Reporter 1300. Remember how many people comedy people are eligible . Ms. Criswell i dont have that number. Well get estimates of who will be eligible, and we can get that to you. Reporter a followup on the president s visit. Can talk about what milestone you expect to be crossed in the Recovery Process by august 21, that makes you comfortable, but having the president meet his objective of not interrupting the progress . Ms. Criswell our biggest goal was to make sure we were not going to disrupt the ability of our searchandrescue teams to continue their operations. When i was briefing the president , and he spoke with the governor, he asked the governor if this would be an appropriate time. The governor agreed. Reporter search and recovery will be completed . Ms. Criswell it will be in an area where he will not be impacting them. Reporter on the monetary assistance, it is a one time payment intended for consumables. A team ash teams on the teams on the ground, are worried about making car payments, their lives being upended, what do you say to residents, who fear that the money being made available will not cut it . Ms. Criswell the critical needs assistance is to support some of their initial basic needs. In addition, we have our individual and household programs, i can provide additional funding, covering home repairs. Many people, most people, lost everything. They can also cover lots of personal properties such as vehicles and major appliances. We will work with each individual, as they register for assistance, to help understand what is eligible under fema. Fema is intended to jumpstart the Recovery Process. Well work with our faithbased partners and some of the philanthropy organizations, giving funding to the state. To make sure everybody has their cases managed in a way that helps them meets the unmet needs. Reporter on court nation with state officials, earlier in the week you have been encouraging them to meet the requests, and try to think about what they will need in two weeks, three weeks. Given how overwhelmed they are, do you feel they have the ability to think that far in advanced to see what they will need, further down the road . Ms. Criswell part of what we have done, as we have embedded our teams in, we help them think about what the potential needs will be. Bringing in this Additional Team that will support the county will help them think through, strategically into the future, what are we going to need a week from now, two weeks from now. Those are the daily conversations that are happening every day, so we can continue the flow of resources into the area. Reporter i know your focus is on the response, but it seems like there is questions about how these fires began and how they were able to spread so devastatingly, including questions of the sirens that went off and the fault of the utility grid. With their conversations with the president , how interested is he on accountability for what happened . Does he want to get to the bottom of it . Is it something he is asking your team or others to look into . Ms. Criswell we want to make sure we understand what happens and how we can continue to improve, so we can minimize the impact that other communities may have. That is something the president is committed to. This is still going to be part of the states response to determine what level they want to assess the cause and any of the response. We as a community, as an Emergency Management community, want to continually learn from the events we are facing, especially as we are seeing a rise in the number of Severe Weather events. That way we can put measures in place to make communities more fire resistant, so we can mitigate against the damages or threats we will face in the future. We can reduce the impacts these communities will see. But also help individuals understand what the future risks are that they could potentially face. And they could take proper measures so they are prepared. Reporter you said on monday that you would need additional funding, so you dont have to push the project into the next fiscal year. Do you have an amount of what will be needed . Ms. Criswell the request has gone up. It was in there for 12 billion. We have enough funding support, the ongoing response effort, we take events into this into consideration. But, it will delight, if we dont have delay some of the recovery projects if we dont have enough funding. Reporter youre going to need more beyond that . Ms. Criswell we may potentially need more. My team is assessing that. Reporter hi. You mentioned can you talk about the Mental Health . How people can access that . Ms. Criswell the Mental Health aspect . I i mean, this community is going through one of the worst things we could possibly imagine. The Mental Health concerns are real. And the Mental Health concerns are a priority for the governor and his team. We have, as part of our programs, the ability to bring in Mental Health services to our crisis counseling program. The American Red Cross has also brought in Mental Health specialists. As they continue to support, the states sheltering operations, they are doing is embed