City, state and Red Cross workers made house-to-house checks in flood-ravaged areas yesterday to determine the scope of the damage caused by days of heavy rain on O'ahu and Kaua'i.

Among the hardest-hit areas on O'ahu were Waialua, Hale'iwa, Wai'anae, La'ie, Waipahu and parts of Mililani, officials said.

Coralie Matayoshi, American Red Cross Hawai'i Chapter chief executive, said her volunteers had determined that on O'ahu, at least 190 homes were damaged and 34 of those were badly damaged or destroyed.

She said at least 60 people spent Saturday night at Red Cross shelters in Wai'anae, La'ie and Hale'iwa.

She said she did not have a total for Kaua'i.

Red Cross volunteers continued to pass out cleaning kits complete with bleach, cleansers, a mop and a bucket.

Some areas of O'ahu were walloped with as much as 15 inches of rain last week.

Yesterday morning, firefighters had not responded to any flood or weather-related incidents, but earlier they responded to 26 such incidents, with most between 2 and 10 p.m. Saturday.

Mayor Mufi Hannemann on Saturday signed an emergency declaration after inspecting areas hit hardest by Thursday's storm and Saturday's deluge. The declaration provides a mechanism to grant partial property tax refunds to eligible homeowners and waive building permit fees to speed up repairs. The declaration is also the first step in requesting additional disaster relief from the state and federal governments.

FEDERAL AID SOUGHT

Gov. Linda Lingle has asked the U.S. Small Business Administration to issue a disaster declaration for O'ahu.

A declaration would make long-term, low-interest loans available to businesses, homeowners and renters who suffered flood and other damage.

The governor said more than 200 homes and businesses on O'ahu were damaged in the storm, which began on Wednesday and lasted through Saturday.

Lingle won approval for a similar request after wind and rain storms last year.

The governor also signed a state disaster proclamation on Friday to aid the recovery. That proclamation covers O'ahu, Kaua'i and Maui County.

On Kaua'i, Red Cross volunteers were focusing their efforts on Menehune Road area near Waimea Valley, which experienced heavy flooding, Matayoshi said.

"The big concern right now is leptospirosis and mildew," Matayoshi said. "We have volunteers out there today assessing the damage."

Kaua'i Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho Jr. said: "Completing the damage assessments will be the top priority for our Civil Defense staff this week. We want to make sure we take advantage of every opportunity there may be to assist our residents with federal funding if we can qualify."

About 20 people from the state and city Civil Defense agencies and the Red Cross spread out over O'ahu Saturday counting damaged homes. Four teams were out yesterday.

Firefighters had a quiet day yesterday, said Capt. Earle Kea-loha, Honolulu Fire Department spokesman.

RESCUES, EVACUATIONS

Among the more significant incidents over the weekend, according to Kealoha: