Q. How do schools determine when they close for emergencies? I can see if a school was flooded or the power was out. But I drove by schools near my office where the power was on and businesses nearby were operating so I couldn't figure out why they would close. Can you please find out?

A. According to Department of Education spokesman Greg Knudsen, there are a number of factors that can cause a school closure beyond the obvious electrical outages and rain damage.

Even if a school appears to be intact, problems such as transportation and access could lead to a closure.

While it might be easy enough for a student to make it to a campus a few miles away, the same is not necessarily true for teachers. "The faculty are coming from all over," Knudsen said. "If access was blocked it would have created a situation where students would have been on campus without adult supervision, without their teachers, and that would have been a factor."

Closures are determined on an individual basis and principals must get approval from the complex-area superintendent and the state superintendent to close a school for the day.

Reports on school closures are updated regularly at www.doe.k12.hi.us. Click on the link "School Closures" near the top right.

Q. I have a quick question that has to do with roads. It rained and rained and there was a small rockslide just north of Kahuku. I did not stop soon enough to avoid hitting some of the smaller rocks, which did about $2,000 worth of damage to my car. Is the city at all responsible for this? I have heard that this site has had rockslides in the past, yet there are no signs posted anywhere to let the drivers be aware.

A. You didn't mention exactly where this happened, so I'm not sure whether it's a city or state issue. If it was on a side road, then your best bet is to call the city corporation counsel at 527-5656 and someone there can walk you through the process.

If you were on Kamehameha Highway, however, you'll want to contact the state Department of Accounting and General Services' Risk Management Office at 586-0547. You can also find the form and answers to frequently asked questions at www.hawaii.gov/dags/rmo.

Motorists also can report a problem and suggest that warning signs be posted by calling 768-7777 for a city road or 536-PUKA (7852) for a state road. These phone numbers also serve as hotlines to report potholes.